The Lengths of Friendishness
by watram
Summary: For once there were no external obstacles standing between them. The internal ones, however, were there, deeply settled. A story of bringing them down. Lit attempt at post-finale friendship.
1. The Best Coffee In Town

A/N: The word 'friendishness' originated from a conversation between Rory and Paris. I thought it would be fitting here. I feel uncertain about publishing this story, it has become quite precious to me and I'm scared of releasing it for the world to read. So reviews would be very much appreciated. And I dedicate this to my friend April who puts up with all my craziness about it ;)

Disclaimer: This story is my baby and I would never disclaim it, I do not, however, own the Gilmore Girls. Duh.

* * *

Everything was hectic, as always before an open day. This time they were determined that no poets would premier new material, and they wanted their artists to actually name what they painted, not deliver untitled art on last minute. As much fun as this job was, communicating with artists wasn't particularly easy. Especially since his own communication skills have never been great. Not his fault really, it was both in the Danes and Mariano genes. Now he was happy he was sent to get coffee, that meant about ten minutes without talking to anyone. He put his earphones in and headed down the road.

* * *

She was sitting in a café, sipping her extra large black coffee with no sugar, her laptop with a half-written article in front of her. She had less than two hours to finish it, and another story to send off the same day. Unfortunately the concept of 'running out of time' was clearly impossible to grasp for her colleague, Ethan. His newspaper didn't demand more than two articles a week. Now he was sitting next to her, attempting, once again, to attract her attention.

"Are you sure you don't want to get a drink tonight?"

"I'm sorry Ethan, I told you already I have a story to finish." She was trying her best to remain polite but she was really uncomfortable with him sitting there and staring at her, she wished he would just leave her alone so she could get on with her work.

"I can help you with that!" he said a bit too enthusiastically.

"Thanks Ethan but I also have some phone calls to make, that will keep me busy tonight."

"Can't you..."

She looked up to fix him with her withering stare that she perfected over the years but instead she saw another familiar face. She didn't expect him there, but it would be a lie to say that she didn't fantasise about meeting him when she was in Philadelphia. She wouldn't seek him out purposefully, but she wondered what it would be like to see him. On the metro. Somewhere on the street. She wasn't entirely surprised now but her tongue still felt numb.

"Whoa! Rory?! What... what are you doing here?"

"Jess!" she laughed nervously, trying to mask her embarrassment. " I'm... trying to work" she rolled her eyes meaningfully which was enough for him to understand that she was silently mocking the man next to her. "I came to Philly this morning with Obama's presidential campaign, I'm reporting."

"And you've already tracked down the best coffee in town," he smirked.

She opened her mouth to answer that she is a Gilmore after all and if she learned anything from her mother it was sensing places with good coffee but Ethan fidgeted in his chair and interrupted her.

"Excuse me, Rory, won't you introduce me?"

" Oh, I'm sorry. Ethan, this is my old friend Jess, Jess this is Ethan, a reporter of the Atlanta Daily News."

"Hi, nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too," Jess dismissed him quickly. "So Rory, I've got to run back to work now but we should catch up."

"...You're sure?" He answered her with a shrug and a slight smile. "We should!" she said, sounding happier than she intended.

" How about tonight then?"

" Great, 8 o'clock?"

" Come around to Truncheon." He smiled and turned back, holding a tray with four cups of coffee in his hands.

She looked after him, grinning. After a few seconds Ethan coughed, causing her to look at his face full of outrage. She couldn't stand him anymore so she grabbed her messenger bag, got up and left without a word, with her laptop and coffee in her hands.

* * *

He wasn't sure how to feel or what to think about this. Was it crazy, suggesting her to hang out? Could they possibly make it not awkward? He was over it, or he liked to think he was. Yes, she hurt him, yes, he was drunk and picked up random girls for two weeks after the last time she was in Philly, but maybe if they both tried they could be friends. Friend-ish. Or at least be 'there' without hurting each other with their existence itself liked they seemed to do for the last couple of years. Since that day of the open house, he made himself hard to hurt. He knew he needed a radical change, he couldn't remain as vulnerable as he was then, he couldn't let her have that effect on him anymore. He never tried to forget about her but he somehow managed to block out the feelings he had for her, he really wanted to think of her as a friend, somebody he cared about but not in that way. He wanted his head alone to be the ruler of him. And he didn't even know that as a consequence of blocking out his feelings for her, he became incapable of love. He didn't think he even needed it. He had close friends now like never before, he had Harriet, Matt and Chris, he had Luke even though he wouldn't say it out loud, but he couldn't give all of him to someone else again, the way he did with her. It became his form of self-defence. It made him feel safe. He walked back into the Truncheon office, greeted by a loud argument that involved a great deal of literary quotations and an even louder telephone that no one was bothered to pick up. It felt familiar and his mind quickly drifted away to work.

* * *

She decided to walk to Truncheon to have time to think but maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. She knew he had every reason to hate her, but he was the one who suggested catching up so maybe he didn't. Maybe he felt similarly about her as she did about him before. No matter how much he hurt her, she couldn't bring herself to hate him. Which was probably a good thing, maybe they could be friends again. Friend-ish. Or just 'there' without hurting each other with their existence itself. But was she really able to regard him as just being 'there' without her feelings going further? She tried it back in High School, over six years earlier, but it didn't exactly stop her. Nor did Dean or her mum for that matter. But now that she reached the doors of Truncheon, she had to be civil and not seem like she was thinking about it. About him. She smiled nervously and pushed the door.

* * *

It couldn't start any more awkwardly than that. They bumped into each other in the door. His hand landed on her elbow to make sure she was stable.

"Oops, sorry! Oh. Hi."

"Hi. I just saw you through the window and came out because Matt is having a nervous breakdown and you don't want to see it," he said quickly and released her hand. She wished Lorelai was there to see that he was able to speak not only in monosyllables.

"Okay, sure, so... what do we do now?"

"I don't know, drinks?"

"Why not." She agreed, feeling relieved as always when she had a plan. Then something crossed her mind. "Actually, no! Anywhere we go, I'll be scared that Ethan and the guys from work will be there."

He chuckled and started walking slowly, putting his hands deep in his pockets.

"The guy from this morning?"

"Yeah, he won't go away!" she pouted.

"I'm kind of grateful to him."

"What?"

"I think I saw your withering stare after all these years. Because of him," he smirked.

"What makes you think it wasn't directed at you?" she answered, suddenly feeling more comfortable. Teasing him was always something she was good at.

"Huh. Maybe because I can't recall any reason why I would deserve it?"

Somehow this sentence brought back memories of the last time they met. She looked down at her shoes.

"Jess... I'm sorry"

"Hey, don't apologize for your withering stare, it was entertaining!"

"No, not that... you know what I mean."

"And so much for small talk," he sighed, then looked ahead blankly, biting his lip. "Rory, don't... it's forgotten."

He tried to hide his emotions, something he thought he was a master in, but she knew him too well. She saw what he wanted to keep to himself. The anger, the hurt. In a way it offended her.

"No, Jess, we're adults now, for once we should be able to talk about the hard stuff," she said, surprised at her own confidence. In fact, she wasn't sure she wanted to talk about it herself. But the old wound was now open and it required a disinfection instead of stitches put on the dirt. At least that's what she thought. He clearly didn't share her opinion.

"Look, Rory, it's in the past. I admit that... the last time I saw you... it hurt. And I did some really stupid things after that. But I'm okay now, I hope you are too and we're cool, so forget about that. Please," he added quietly.

She felt tears blurring her vision but she didn't let them out. They walked in silence for several minutes, each of them considering what had and hadn't been said, trying to process, gain perspective. Surprisingly, in a way the silence was comfortable.

"Tell me about your job," Jess inquired, finally breaking it. His tone was lighter.

"Erm, it's... it's good," she answered, still struggling for composure and bringing her thoughts back to the conversation. "Great actually. I don't get to see my mom much because of all the travelling but I'm getting to know new people and places. In addition to my articles I could now write a hotel guide book across the country."

"Sounds like fun," he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"It is!"

"I know, I know, I just never pictured you doing that. You wanted to crawl around trenches while really... you were the happiest when you could stay in your room with the safety net of your books around you. Now you're doing neither."

"I guess I've grown up and expanded my horizons." She hesitated. "I like what I'm doing, it's exciting, and I appreciate the fact that I can wear heels, which I wouldn't really be able to in trenches," she smiled.

"I'm glad."

"What about you, Jess, how is Truncheon?"

"Let's see, Matt keeps complaining that we can't break out into the mainstream but we're doing good. Actually we've expanded, we have a staff of four now."

"Oh yeah? Still you, Matt and Chris?"

"Yes, plus Harriet, she's been with us for almost a year."

"A girl?"

"Why are you so surprised?" he shot her an amused look. "It's refreshing!"

Rory scanned his face for more details but he didn't keep her waiting.

"Of course, it's been painful since she's been on and off with Matt, but she's getting more work done than those two put together. Personally I find it quite shocking how much batting the eyelashes can get you in the literary industry."

"And any other for that matter," she playfully batted her eyelashes at him.

"Huh, not with me, Gilmore, I wouldn't read Ayn Rand again even if you kept doing that," he chuckled.

"Hey, watch it!" she nudged him. "I've read _The Old Man and The Sea_!"

He hissed scornfully. "Rory Gilmore being content with reading just one – the most famous book by the greatest writer of all time. You realise that he wrote nine other novels and a bunch of stories and poems, right?"

"Okay, so I've read _A Farewell to Arms_ too," she gave up.

"You did?" he looked at her with an emerging smirk of satisfaction.

"Twice."

"Now, now, that's too much for me to take!" he teased.

All the tension from earlier disappeared as they spent over two hours wandering around Philadelphia, talking about books, movies, music, mocking each other, making numerous _Rocky_ references which made Jess roll his eyes, even discussing their family. Technically almost-family, but they were both convinced that this time round Luke and Lorelai's wedding was going to happen. The only subject they carefully avoided were their significant others or lack thereof. They both were afraid that the other one might take it as an allusion to something and they didn't want that. Jess knew from his uncle about Rory's rejection of Logan's proposal and she didn't mention anyone else except for Ethan so there was nothing to talk about. And she didn't ask about him. Not that there was anything to tell. It was just better not to bring back the tension that they started their conversation with.

"As nice as this was, this is my hotel and my bus is leaving town at 8 am tomorrow."

"Right, go get some sleep. I'm glad we did this, Rory."

"The pleasure is all mine, cousin," she replied sarcastically. "Let me know if you find that book."

"I will."

"Bye, Jess," she said and hugged him spontaneously.

He stood still for a split second but then returned her friendly hug. "Bye, Rory."

He put his earphones in and selected the Ramones while he walked back home. He was happy with how the evening turned out, it seemed like they could be friends after all. And they were about to become family too, so it was good that they could get along without all the heartache. He got to his apartment above Truncheon, sat on his bed with a copy of _A Farewell to Arms_ (he hadn't read it for a year now) and soon fell asleep with a smile on his face. Under whatever label, it looked like he had a chance to get his Rory back.

* * *

She walked back into her hotel room and jumped onto the bed. She was definitely pleased with how the evening went. She realised that the thought of her and Jess being a family never crossed her mind. It was quite ridiculous. She missed hanging out with him, his wit, his mocking, his smile. And the proof that they could get along was great. But it was just what she feared, too. She didn't even realise it herself, but there was a feeling creeping in from somewhere deep inside her, that this wasn't good enough.

In a strange, dark hotel room, Rory Gilmore hid her face in a stiff white pillow and shed heavy tears.


	2. The Inquiries

**A/N: Thanks for the response to chapter 1. If you'll continue reading and reviewing you'll help me through this miserable time of coursework writing.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. It's quite possible that Jess owns me though. Not fair really. **

* * *

In the daylight of the following morning, the previous night's tears seemed stupid and she didn't understand where they came from. Everything was good. She managed to remove the awkwardness from her relations with Jess so in fact her life was better than 24 hours earlier. She was brushing her teeth when she heard her phone buzzing on the night stand.

'_Turns out I have the first edition. J'_

They even exchanged numbers. She smiled, really glad that he chose to text instead of calling her because even if the tears were meaningless, or so she persuaded herself, she didn't really want to hear his voice. She typed in '_Can't wait to see it! I'll be back in town in 5 weeks, keep it safe! R'_

'_And here was me thinking I could use it to test how flammable paper really is. J' _came a quick reply.

She got dressed, zipped up her suitcase and left the room at 7:40 to see her bus already in front of the hotel and fellow reporters gathering around. The sun was already bright and reflected in the window of a café across the street, directing her to the place she just needed. She left her luggage and ran. When she came out with a cup of the beverage that, she was sure, was the main reason why she was still alive, she saw Jess looking around, squinting in the sunlight.

"Are you stalking me?" she surprised him, approaching him from the back.

"Me? No! J. B. Priestley is though," he smirked and handed her a worn out copy of _Albert Goes Through._

"Jess, you didn't have to come here, I could have waited," she said but couldn't hide a grin.

"No biggie, just changed the route of my morning walk."

"Your morning walk?" she looked at him suspiciously.

"Hey, I'm a writer, remember? I find mornings particularly inspiring, you know, the birds singing, the sun shining," he teased.

She was about to hit him with some witty response to that but then she saw Ethan coming out of the hotel.

"Oh crap. Hide!" she pulled Jess' sleeve leading him around the bus. He looked in the same direction and chuckled at the sight of her reporter friend in a fresh blue shirt and carefully slicked-back hair.

"Right, I'm gonna go. See you in five weeks?"

"Yep."

"Take care Rory."

"Bye Jess, thanks for the book."

"You're welcome."

Rory got settled on the bus in a seat next to the window and took out a paper to read while Julia who sat next to her fell asleep. When she was in the middle of a fascinating interview with Umberto Eco she heard hissing from the seat behind her. She didn't need to turn around to see who that was, she just rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Rory," he whispered.

She contemplated the thought of faking sleep but she realised she held coffee and the paper in her hands and it wouldn't come across as believable. Finally she turned around.

"Yes, Ethan, can I help you?"

"You blew me off for that guy!"

"He's an old friend," she tried to sound apologetic.

"Oh, so that's what you are. Old friends with benefits."

"Excuse me?!"

"Well, you arranged to meet him last night and he was still here this morning, it's obvious."

"The only obvious thing here is that I won't have this conversation with you!" she whispered angrily, still trying not to wake up Julia.

She grabbed her phone and dialled her mother's number and was welcomed with a sleepy grunt.

"Mom! It's 8:30, shouldn't you be getting ready for work?"

"It's nice to hear you too, Rory," was the grumpy response.

"I figured."

"What's up, kid?"

"Ethan is regularly stalking me." Her mother tried to show interest, adding a question mark to her yawn. "And he thinks I'm a tramp."

"Does he have a reason or does he just sense it's in your genes passed down from your grandmother the vicious trollop?"

"He thinks that if he saw me with one guy in the evening and in the morning then I automatically had to sleep with him."

"Details, hun, who was it?"

"Well," she hesitated, "it was Jess."

"You slept with Jess?!" Lorelai exclaimed suddenly sitting up in her bed.

"Great, so now you think I'm a tramp too?" she asked getting irritated.

"You do have it in your genes. What was Jess doing there?"

"Get your coffee mom, I'll call you in ten minutes."

"No, wait, I'm awake! I'm awake!"

"Okay." Rory sighed. "I was in a café yesterday, working, but Ethan was there too so it was totally futile, then Jess showed up, he suggested that we should catch up so I went to Truncheon after work to meet him and we walked around Philadelphia for three hours, just talking and then we got to my hotel and said bye."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"So how come Ethan saw him in the morning?"

"Oh, because I asked him to find a book for me and he did and he brought it."

"And you're sure the person you met was Jess and not his look-alike who's actually capable of being sweet?" Lorelai inquired.

"Mom, Jess could be sweet, even at seventeen when everyone in Stars Hollow thought he was evil personified."

"Name one sweet thing he ever did!"

"Well, he fixed Luke's toaster. He looked up the distance to Yale, took me to the Distillers' concert, brought a care..."

"Whoa, stop before I melt here and Luke will find a big wet stain on the bed. Let's say I believe you. So what, you two are Demi and Bruce type of friends now?"

"Without the kids and the Kutcher part, I guess you could say that," Rory sighed.

"Please tell me you don't need a boy fifteen years your junior in order for you and Jess to really be friends?"

"Ew, mom! He wouldn't be my friend, he would have me committed, and rightly so! Anyway, I've got to go now, mom, call you later!"

"Don't forget!"

"Bye."

* * *

"Hey honey," Lorelai said, sitting at the counter.

"Hey! Coffee?" Luke answered, giving her a quick kiss.

"Freshly squeezed orange juice, please," she grinned in response.

"What?!"

"I'm kidding, do you seriously need to ask me that?"

"I'm still hoping that one day you'll come in here and ask for something else."

"I just did and you didn't believe me!" she took a big gulp of coffee and decided to change the subject, "Anyway... you know Rory was in Philadelphia yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, you mentioned it."

"And you know who else is in Philadelphia?"

"They've seen each other?" Luke's jaw dropped as he stared at his fiancée.

"If you mean Rory and Richard Gere, then unfortunately no, they haven't. She did, however, run into the author of that book you own eight copies of."

"That's bad news, Lorelai," he said rubbing his forehead.

"Maybe it's not, she said they're just being friendly."

"The last time at the open house they were being friendly too and Jess was a mess afterwards."

"Jess, mess, it rhymes," she finally smiled, "What, was he sobbing?" she asked lightly.

"Slurring."

"Oh..." There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"They're grown up now, they know better than to repeat their mistakes. They'll be alright," she said softly, trying to believe it herself, then got up and walked towards the door.

"I know."

"Good. See you at home."

* * *

It was late afternoon and Jess was sitting at his desk in the Truncheon office, proofreading Matt's article for their magazine. The office was empty and quiet, except for Harriet who was typing something intently on her computer. Her long legs were visible beneath her desk and for a moment Jess' gaze laid on them. She refused to wear trousers to work because she knew her legs helped her to rule the Truncheon office. Besides, she didn't like the fact that she was ten years older than the guys and thought that this was a good way to turn away attention from her face which had a couple of wrinkles on it. She did realise that she may come across as shallow but she didn't care, she was just a confident woman and it was just an aid in enforcing her power. Matt, Chris and Jess knew there was much more to her than that anyway. When the telephone rang and she picked it up automatically, still focusing on the screen.

"Truncheon Books, Harriet Johnson speaking." Jess could hear a voice babbling something on the line but Harriet interrupted. "Cut out the excuses, your deadline for this poem was two days ago. Now, I really don't care if you think this is your best so far, it's been sent to the printers yesterday... Well then just pray you can publish it in your next collection... No I'm not planning to publish any more of your work if you don't deliver it on time! ...Back at you!" she put away the phone rather loudly and yelled, "Matthew, I swear this is the last time I'm dealing with your bloody poets!"

"Jeez, woman, he can't even hear you from upstairs," Jess said irritably. Harriet looked up at him, just noticing that he was in the room.

"Where the hell were you last night?" she asked accusingly.

"Out," he answered with his eyes fixed on the text in front of him, biting his pen.

"You missed out on my lasagne."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Jess," she frowned at him.

"Yes?"

"Talk!"

He sighed and finally met her eyes.

"I was showing an old friend around."

"You don't have old friends. It was her, wasn't it?"

"'She' counts as an old friend."

"No, she doesn't. You were in love with her years after you broke up and both of the facts indicate that she's an ex that you were, or still are, hung up on."

"I wasn't in love with her for years after we broke up, I was in love with the idea of her." Jess looked down at his fingernails.

"Whatever. Don't make such a Gatsby out of yourself. What about now?"

"What about now?" he repeated.

"Well, what does Jess Mariano feel now?"

"Hunger. Please tell me there's some of your lasagne left for me!" he got up from his chair and stepped towards the stairs to the apartment while Harriet's eyes returned to her computer."

"Fridge. And you are not getting away with this, Jessica, I will hunt you down and get the details out of you!"

Jess glanced at her with a smirk and retreated upstairs. As he was putting last night's leftovers in the microwave he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

'_Turns out Ethan loathes Priestley and won't talk to me as long as I'm reading it. THANK YOU! Off to bookstore to get more. R'_


	3. The Old Lies and Giggles

**A/N: I would really really appreciate reviews. Even though I know that this chapter is kind of a filler. Then again, this story is not a drama piece and I reserve my right to take my time and let Jess and Rory's friendish relationship develop gradually. I hope you like it anyway. **

**Disclaimer: I own GG. And today is April Fools Day.**

* * *

"Mariano, talk or die, your choice!"

Harriet knew him for just over a year but she prided herself in the fact that she could make him open up. At least a bit. He didn't really have much choice after their first drunken encounter when she managed to get a lot out of him. Now that he was showing resistance and thus proving her – the woman of success, unsuccessful, she hated it. She could see that the matter was serious and he wasn't done processing it himself. She just wanted to make him spit it out, maybe offer him a different perspective. But he was cutting her out, and she wasn't the sort of person to give anyone space, especially him, who grew to be her best friend. He had a tendency to do stupid things when he had too much space.

"I'd rather die, thank you."

"Fine, you asked for it!" she said and then stopped suddenly with a spark in her eyes. She decided to use more radical measures and she just worked out exactly what they were.

"Matt, come here!" she yelled.

"I hate you!" he yelled back at his girlfriend as he approached her and Jess.

"I know. I think you should include Jessica in your plans."

Matthew stared at her in shock, then moved his eyes to Jess and back to Harriet, while Jess stood in between them, extremely confused.

"You're right, he's been acting weird all week, he could use a guy-only weekend," he addressed Harriet, completely ignoring Jess' presence. She lifted her eyebrows in satisfaction and patted Jess on the head.

"Yes, you boys are going to have a jolly good time," she grinned.

Jess was getting irritated, still looking at the couple carefully and anticipating some explanation. In vain.

"Anyone care to fill me in here?"

"You, me and Chris. We're going to the seaside on Friday to take Chris's parents' boat and sail away from the crazy world of women. I, for one, need a break from her," he nodded at Harriet, "Chris doesn't get any so not looking at chicks will do him some good and you, I don't know what the deal with you is, but I'm pretty sure Harriet's gonna kill me if we don't take you."

"Dude, you're kidding me. There's no way..." but one glance at Harriet told him there was no way out. She was pretty much his best friend but she could also have a Momma Kim-esque effect on him. Anyone who said 'no' to her was a dead man.

"Man, this is gonna be so much fun!" Matt said excitedly. "You know what? We're taking George with us, he needs inspiration and what's better for that than the ocean!"

"Who the hell is George?" Jess asked tearfully.

"My poet!"

* * *

Lorelai was sitting on the couch watching a movie with Paul Anka in her lap when she heard the front door opening.

"Luke, come here quickly, the new Star Trek is on!" she shouted without turning around.

Rory wanted to yell 'surprise!' but instead she grinned and quietly made her way to the couch, sitting next to her mother and taking a fry. Lorelai looked at her with her eyes widening and mouth opening, blinking as if she wanted to make sure what she was seeing was real. Then all of the sudden they started squealing and hugging each other, causing Paul Anka to hide in the fire place.

"Is that normal?" Rory looked at the dog, still in Lorelai's arms.

"No, but we watched _Santa Claus 2_ the day before yesterday so I suppose that's where the idea came from. Now, tell mommy, how come you're here anyway?"

"Can't a girl just come home for a couple of days?"

"How many days is a couple of days?"

"Look it up in the dictionary," Rory grinned, "I have to leave for Chicago on Thursday morning, which gives me a full day with my mommy and my favourite town".

"Hush, don't say that out loud, Taylor is smug enough already."

"Nah, he'll just give me free chocolate-chocolate-chocolate ice cream as a welcome-back treat which I wouldn't get if I didn't go around boosting his ego."

"Dirty. Speaking of ice cream, I believe there's some in the kitchen. It's only double chocolate but I'm hoping you won't abandon me for Taylor because of that. Sit." Lorelai disappeared in the kitchen and Rory took her jacket off and settled comfortably on the couch.

"Mom!" she yelled.

"Loin fruit?"

"Why exactly are you watching Star Trek?"

"See, I'm trying to work out what made my dear husband-to-be so messed up," Lorelai answered entering the living room with a box of ice cream and two spoons, "and since he used to be a Trekkie, I'm following that lead. I'm betting it was Spock's eyebrows. Here, eat," she took her place next to Rory.

"So, tell me. How are you and Luke?"

"We're good," Lorelai smiled widely.

"Good. You look happy, mom."

"I am, kid," she replied and wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulder.

* * *

The next day, Rory was sitting at the counter at Luke's waiting for Lorelai to join her for lunch and absorbing the atmosphere of Stars Hollow. She missed the town with all its craziness, even Kirk who just came in to offer his services as an ice cream taster. Her amusement was already peaking when Luke's telephone rang.

"Hello, Luke's," he answered. "Oh, hey Jess!" Rory looked up to see Luke with a warm smile on his face. "Yeah, you know you can ask me for anything... you what?!" Now Luke's face was covered by a mixture of shock and amusement and soon he burst out laughing. "Are you seriously telling me you want to borrow my fishing rods?" he said into the phone in between hysterical giggles, unable to control himself. "You do realise there might be beaking swans there, right?... Take a camera with you and film it all, I wonder if I can get Taylor to screen it at the next town meeting ." By now Rory was giggling herself. She took out her cell phone and hiding it beneath the counter, she wrote simply _'Fishing-rods?! Beaking swans?! R'_ and pressed the 'send' button. Meanwhile, Luke finished with an "okay, go, I'll see you tomorrow."

About half a minute later Rory's phone signalled a new message.

'_Crap, you heard that?! I didn't know you're in Stars Hollow! Long story. J'_

'_Entertain me, please, Kirk is out of sight! R' _she replied, grinning at the display. She expected a text with some excuse why he wouldn't tell her but instead her phone started ringing.

"Out!" Luke frowned at her and she walked out of the door obediently, picking up.

"You got me thrown out of the diner!" she welcomed Jess with an accusation.

"Well, hello to you too!"

"My coffee is there!"

"It was you who wanted the story!"

"Right. Please tell me the fishing-rods were some kind of a joke."

"I wish," Jess sighed on the other end of the line, "I'm being forced into coming to a guys-only weekend at sea but no one's got fishing equipment so they made me call Luke."

Rory was the one close to crying from laughter now. "The image of you sitting on a boat in the middle of the ocean and cursing at fish will hunt me in my dreams," she said and heard Jess groan. "And what was that about swans?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Come on, Jess, I can't possibly mock you more than now."

"Fine. I got beaked and I'm traumatised."

"What do you mean you got beaked?! How? When? Where? What does that even mean?" she struggled to catch her breath.

"I mean a vicious swan attacked me and gave me a black eye before that dinner at your grandmother's years ago."

"You told me you got hit by a football!"

"Yeah, well."

"Liar!"

"It was better to lie than to be eternally mocked by you!" Jess made an attempt to defend himself.

"You'll pay for it, I'm going to tell my mother!"

"No!" he answered with genuine panic in his voice.

"I will, and I'll tell her to put you through a mocking hell when you come here."

"About that, I'm coming tomorrow afternoon, are you still going to be there?"

"Actually I've got to leave early tomorrow so I guess we'll just miss each other." She wouldn't admit it to anyone but she was slightly disappointed.

"Oh well, at least you won't see me with the fishing rods."

"True. I've got to go, Jess, Kirk is getting close to my cup of coffee inside."

"Dispose of it and get a new one," he said and it made her chuckle.

"Good idea. Bye Jess."

"Bye Rory."

She was about to enter the diner but she heard her name being called by a familiar voice and turned around.

"Lane!" she rushed to her friend who was pushing a double buggy with two dark-haired toddlers. The girls hugged and Rory said hello to Steve and Kwan, "I knocked at your door earlier but no one was in."

"I took the twins out for a walk. I didn't know you were coming home!"

"Neither did I, it was short-notice, just two days off."

"Better to have you for two days than not at all," Lane smiled. "Who were you talking to?"

"Um, when?" Rory asked brightly.

"Just now, on the phone, you were laughing your head off."

"Oh that, that was... a friend," she mumbled, afraid of Lane's reaction if she told her the truth.

"Rory Gilmore, I know you too well for you to get away with saying that when I can see you're hiding something!"

"Okay, fine, it was Jess," Rory watched her best friend's eyes widening in surprise, "just don't make a big deal out of it, Lane," she added.

"Hi girls!" Lorelai chose that moment to approach them and Rory wasn't sure whether or not it was a good thing.

"Hi Lorelai! You know, I should head home, the boys need feeding, but Rory, you have to come this afternoon and we will talk," Lane sent her a meaningful look which didn't escape Lorelai's attention.

"What was that about?" she asked when they sat at a table in the diner.

"Oh, nothing, me and Lane just have a lot to catch up on."

"Hey, what would you like to eat?" Luke came over to them and leaned in to give his fiancée a peck on the lips.

"Cheeseburger with a side of cheese and onion rings, please."

"Make that a double and throw in some chilli fries."

"Finally, someone who can keep up with my eating habits, oh how I have missed you my child!" Lorelai exclaimed dramatically.

Luke rolled his eyes and turned around to go to the kitchen but then remembered something.

"Jess just called, he's coming here tomorrow. Is that okay with you, Rory?" he asked, causing Lorelai to stare at him and then at her daughter.

"Luke, Jess doesn't need my permission to come to Stars Hollow and of course I'm okay with that. Besides, I have to leave early in the morning so I'm not going to see him."

"Alright."

"Luke, wait," Rory stopped him, "you two should probably know this... we talk. I mean Jess and I. We're... friends," she said it looking at her cup of coffee which made her miss the exchange of glances between her mother and Luke.

"Oh, good, that's good I suppose," Luke said uncomfortably. "Your food will be here in two minutes."


	4. The Wedding's Second Couple

**A/N: Here's chapter four for you. It would be really nice if you could leave a review after reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GG. I swear.**

* * *

After the lunch with her mother, Rory visited Andrew's bookstore and then headed to Lane's. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Zach who held one of the twins so she gave the father and the son a brief hug and came in to see Lane holding an identical boy on her hip, preparing two bottles of milk.

"Rory, come on in, we're just putting Steve and Kwan for an afternoon nap," Lane walked over to her best friend and hugged her, slightly squashing her son in the process. "Give me five minutes and I'm all yours." Then she switched to whisper, "floorboard under the rug in the kitchen," she said and followed her husband to the room that all four of them shared.

Rory raised an eyebrow and went to explore what was under the floorboard, finding an impressive selection of chocolate bars and drinks. She laughed quietly and picked out two Kit Kats and two cans of coke, carefully replaced the rug and settled on the couch, waiting for Lane and looking around the room. It was full of musical equipment and children's toys. For a moment Rory felt envious of the stable life her best friend had, while she was working like crazy following a politician and essentially living on a bus. Her thoughts were interrupted by Lane sitting down next to her and grabbing her drink.

"Lane, I'm always meaning to ask you, how is it possible to distinguish them?"

"Oh, I'm a terrible mother, I just call one of them Steve and the other Kwan and I hope I'm getting it right. Right now it's easy though because Kwan has five teeth and Steve has four. Zach and Brian are better at this."

Rory chuckled. "I just still find it hard to grasp that you and Zach are parents."

"Yeah, so do I sometimes, but it's great, you know? I couldn't imagine it any other way now." Lane sighed. "Besides, Zach is wonderful and my mother and Brian help us a lot."

"Ooh, ooh, and how is Brian?" Rory asked, eager for gossip.

"Brian continues his long-distance romance with Kyon, he's going to visit her in Korea this summer."

"Sweet!"

"I know. She's finishing school this year and she'll come here in the autumn again. The Adventist College, but they're both thrilled."

Rory leaned back on the couch and let out a sigh.

"Why are you sighing?"

"It's just... everyone seems to be settling down. You have Zach and the boys, Paris is permanently with Doyle, even my mum and Luke are getting married and I'm single again."

"Do you miss him?"

"Logan?"

"Who else?" Lane looked at her friend suspiciously.

"Not really, you know. It's scary. I've been with him for such a long time, I really thought I loved him, and damn, I almost got engaged to him and now all it took was this crazy job and I hardly ever think about him. But if you mean missing a guy in general... I kind of do."

"So what's that thing with Jess?"

"Lane, I told you not to make a big deal out of it. There's no 'thing' with Jess. We talk a bit, we're friends, that's all."

"Okay. Just give me an update when that changes," Lane said lightly.

"If."

"Lane!" they heard Zach's voice as one of the boys started crying.

"When," Lane put down her drink and rushed off to the nursery.

* * *

"I don't want to leave in the morning," Rory pouted. "Are you gonna miss me?"

"Not really, as soon as you leave I'm getting a substitute," Lorelai answered casually.

"You're serious!"

"Gotcha! I'm getting Doula for a day, then I'll proceed missing you."

"I guess I can settle for that."

"Serious question..."

"Yes?"

"You're still gonna be my maid of honour, right?"

"Of course! Why are you even asking?"

"Because Jess is coming tomorrow and Luke wants to ask him to be his best man. But he said that if you're not totally comfortable with that he's gonna ask TJ."

"And I'm supposed to be comfortable with TJ?"

"Good point. Jess it is!"

"I can't wait, mom," Rory grinned.

"For Jess?" Lorelai frowned.

"For the wedding! Why does everyone keep going on and on about Jess all of a sudden?"

"What can I say, we all miss our town hoodlum. The Blumenfield brothers are no match for him. Are you going to sleep yet?"

"Soon, I just want to read a bit."

"Okay. Night hon!"

"Night mom!" Rory kissed her mother on the cheek and snuggled into the couch, reaching for her copy of _The Little Prince_.

* * *

Luke wasn't in the diner when Jess arrived so he just greeted Caesar and went straight upstairs. Sure he's grown up but Stars Hollow didn't get any less crazy. He sat on his old bed and looked around the apartment. It didn't change much but he saw a woman's touch around the place. Luke lived with Lorelai now and she knew better than to invade the only bit of personal space that he had, so the tablecloth and colourful pots with cactuses must have been influenced by April. Jess smirked. His newly found cousin seemed cool, if that word could be used to describe a teenage girl. They only met twice so far but she read a lot so they found a common ground.

His gaze landed on a note and a package on his bed. It had his name on it. He reached for it, expecting something from his uncle but the package revealed _Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction. _The note read:

_Jess,_

_It's a shame that we have missed each other by a couple of hours but I could not pass the opportunity to leave this book for you. I hope the fact that swan-crime has been described in (not very ambitious but still) literature will offer you some consolation. _

_Enjoy,_

_Rory_

_PS. My mom knows. Have fun in Stars Hollow! R_

He laughed and took out his phone to text her.

'_You're evil, you know that? How was the flight? J'_

Then he started reading the book. It wasn't exactly to his taste, but he was curious. After a couple of minutes Luke opened the door and stopped before entering.

"Wow, I seem to recall this picture from a long time ago."

Jess looked up to him and got up.

"Hey Uncle Luke." They gave each other a short, manly hug.

"It's good to see you, Jess."

"Yeah, you too."

"So how long have you got?"

"Until about 7 o'clock, Matt is going to pick me up on his way back from Boston, he went to see his brother who lives there."

Jess' phone signalled a new message and he opened it as Luke went over to the fridge.

'_I'm evil? Have you met my grand/mother? Flight was okay. Sat next to a Tokyo Hotel fan. I think I'm scarred. R'_

Luke put down two bottles of beer on the table and sat down.

"Just give me twenty seconds," Jess said, writing quickly.

'_Point taken. My sympathies. Put some Clash on and you should recover. Just sitting down for a heart-to-heart with Luke. J'_

He put down his cell phone and looked straight at his uncle, taking a sip of beer.

"So," Jess started vaguely, knowing it would make Luke uncomfortable.

"So." It worked, but not quite. Luke was smiling.

"Loose the smile, Uncle Luke, it doesn't work with the plaid," but Luke laughed out loud. "I mean it, it's freaking me out, it's not normal!"

"Actually, it kind of is these days."

Jess looked at his uncle with amazement.

"So, you and Lorelai, huh?"

"Yeah."

"I never thought I'd say this but you look... happy," he cringed as the word left his mouth.

"I am, Jess."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while until Luke broke it.

"Did you talk to Liz recently?"

"I tried to call her from the road today, tell her I'm coming but avoid dinner with her and TJ at the same time but no one picked up."

"They went for some Renaissance fair convention this morning."

"With Doula?" Jess grimaced.

"No, Doula is with Lorelai. You want to see her?"

"Doula, yes. Lorelai, not so much," he answered sceptically.

"Actually there was something I wanted to ask you, but that would require you not avoiding her."

"Shoot."

"Well... how would you feel about being my best man?"

Jess smiled genuinely and answered shortly. "Sure."

"Wow, that was easy," Luke appeared to be shocked.

"Just figured that if I didn't agree you'd ask TJ, and I love the world too much to let it see you in tights."

* * *

"Jess. Hi," Lorelai welcomed him cautiously.

"Lorelai." He was nervous. Because of her presence and the fact that he was in that house again. "Luke said it would be okay to see Doula."

"Yeah, sure, have a sit. I'll go and get her, it's her nap time but she's not asleep yet. We just came back from a walk and she played with Steve and Kwan in the sandbox," she rambled. She was nervous too, Jess always made her uncomfortable. She turned around to see that Luke already came out with the little girl in his arms. "She still hasn't decided which one of them she's going to marry, right Doula? Though, I must say, the girl has a tough choice with them being identical and not talking yet."

Jess scoffed in response, "I'm sure she'll have all the time she needs since she's not dating until she's thirty."

"You do realise you're twenty-three yourself, right?"

"Doula, look who's here," Luke interrupted them. "Do you remember your big brother? Say hello to Jess." He walked over to Jess while Lorelai smiled as always when she saw Luke with his little niece. He always claimed he wasn't a baby person but the way he handled Doula was beyond endearing. And frankly, it made Lorelai want babies of their own. After twenty three years since having Rory, she knew she found the man and she was ready again.

"Ello," Doula said shyly and then covered her eyes with her little hands, then turned away from Jess and hid her face in her uncle's shoulder.

"She's a bit shy but she'll get used to you soon," Luke said and put the toddler on the couch, handed her a bottle with milk and motioned to Jess to sit down next to her. He obediently did. He felt awkward and just sat there while Doula stared at him sucking her milk.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Doula apparently wasn't the most talkative of toddlers but she did respond. She stood up, wobbly on the soft couch and moved to her brother. He supported her gently with one hand, curious about what she was planning. She simply put her tiny hand on his head and pulled his hair with much more force than he thought she was capable of.

"Oww!" he exclaimed and frowned at her while Lorelai chuckled.

"We forgot to warn you. That's her way of testing people."

Indeed, after causing her big brother pain, Doula got more confident and climbed on Jess' lap where she sat. Then she extended her hand in the direction of her bottle and when he handed it to her, she returned to drinking and her big brown serious eyes stared into his. A small smile played on his lips and he attempted to interrupt the eye contact by playfully ruffling her blonde locks. Then he spotted a copy of _The Little Prince _slid behind the cushions of the couch.

"Huh. I guess we have a story to read, what do you think?" She just nodded slowly, still looking at him intently. "_Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book..._" he started. When he got to page twenty-three he felt Doula's head fall on his chest and he continued reading to himself.

* * *

Jess wasn't aware of this, but Luke and Lorelai were standing in the corridor. She snuggled up to his back, wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. For a couple of minutes they didn't move, listening to Jess' voice and watching the siblings. They both thought that Liz should have been there to see this picture. It would make her life. After some time Luke untangled himself from Lorelai's embrace and whispered to her that he has to go back to the diner. But she continued just standing there, leaning against the wall, inhaling the peacefulness of the scene. She felt warmth around her heart that she only ever experienced while watching Rory. Here, in front of her, was the boy who broke her daughter's heart and yet she couldn't hate him. She couldn't hate him even though until that moment she always did. When he stopped reading aloud, she went over to the couch and sat next to him and Doula.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hi."

"She really likes you," she nodded at the little girl.

"You think?"

"Definitely. Do you want me to put her to bed?"

"No, it's okay. Lorelai..." he hesitated.

"Yeah?"

"I've never seen Luke so... happy. I can't believe I just said that."

Lorelai laughed quietly. "Wow, ladies and gentlemen, an entire sentence! Two, even." she exclaimed in a whisper. "Where did that come from anyway?"

"Just an observation. And my version of 'hurt him and you die' speech I suppose, apparently it's mandatory for the best man to deliver it to the bride."

"Never heard about that but you got it," she smiled widely, looking at the ceiling and Jess thought that she really had to be sickeningly in love with his uncle if she was forgetting that she was supposed to be mean towards him. Always. He was Jess Mariano after all. Instead they were actually sitting under the same roof, on the same piece of furniture, having an adult conversation about someone they both cared about and no swans were being mentioned. But there was also someone else they both cared about.

"So, Rory mentioned that you two talk."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?" Lorelai questioned.

"Okay, we do. But don't freak out because we're just friends and we talk."

"Alright then. Just don't ruin that because she's going to be my maid of honour and I need you two to be civil at the wedding," she warned him.

"Yes ma'am."


	5. The Young Men And The Sea

**Disclaimer: Nothing has changed over the last week, I still don't own Gilmore Girls. What a shock.**

* * *

Matt was standing on the pier next to Chris's parents boat with a list in his hands. They were planning to be away from the land for 48 hours and now they were gathering all the equipment.

"Life vests?" Matt read out from the list.

"Check. Five of them."

"There's only four of us."

"Yes, but you can't swim, you need two," Chris presented Matt with his logic, and as if it made any sense, Matt nodded.

"Got it. Beer?"

"Check."

"Fishing-rods?"

"Check."

"Bait?"

"Check."

"Just keep it far away from me," George the poet said with disgust on his face and Matt looked up at him.

"Dude, you are not taking those magazines with you, it's a weekend without chicks, remember? Besides, you're supposed to be getting inspired."

"Well, maybe they inspire me," the poet replied defensively.

"George, it's two days, get a grip," Jess chimed in, chuckling. "Chris, something wrong with the rods?" he looked at his friend who was examining the fishing equipment closely.

"Luke's your uncle, right?" he answered with a question and Jess nodded. "Who's Lorelai?"

"His fiancée, why?" Jess looked at Chris suspiciously.

"It just says 'Luke loves Lorelai' here," he pointed at scratched out letters.

"Jeez. Luke mentioned he took her fishing once, knowing her she was bored out of her mind."

"That's why you don't take women to some places. Which leads me to my point, kids," Matt was playing the supposedly normal one who had to take his distressed friends away from their girl-troubles. Or lack thereof. "Over the next 48 hours, avoid contact with the opposite sex at all cost. No phone calls, not that any of you should have a problem with that since all three of you losers are single," his gaze stopped at George and he raised his voice, "and no magazines, George, what the hell did I just tell you?"

"Looks to me like we're all set," Jess said rolling his eyes.

"Right, onboard we go!" Chris led the way.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day all doing their own things. Chris was taking care of the boat and fishing, measuring the fish as soon as he caught them, writing the length down and letting the fish go. He was aiming to beat his childhood record of catching a 23.4 inches long specimen of haddock. Having exhausted all the possible opportunities of mocking Chris, Jess sat in the corner with a pad and a pen in his hand, scribbling. George was murmuring something about an ocean and commotion, occasionally asking for approval of his poetry from Matt, who soon got bored and fell asleep on the deck, not contemplating the fact that after two hours at sea in full sun, the skin on his back will become tomato-red and awfully painful.

"Man, you're screwed. Or not, because Harriet won't be able to touch you for a week now," Chris commented, laughing at the fact that Matt suddenly wasn't so smug anymore.

"Oww, thanks for the support my friend," he hissed, pulling a t-shirt on. "Guys, I think we need to get to the shore because I need some freaking sun cream, like, now! I can't believe it wasn't on my list."

They did get to the shore about two hours later and split up to look for a drugstore.

* * *

Rory was walking through the hotel hall. She was heading to her room after having a drink or rather three with Julia and her head was starting to feel light. She dreamed of nothing but a nice, hot shower and then bed, even if it wasn't what she could call her bed. Her dreams, however, were not meant to be fulfilled, not yet anyway, because Ethan emerged from a door she just passed.

"Rory, hi! It's good to see you here," he greeted her happily.

"Yeah, you too," she answered in a tired voice.

"It's really good to see you."

"You said that already."

"Yeah... actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"Could we talk on the bus tomorrow, Ethan? I'm really tired," she attempted to blow him off, making a small step in the direction of her room. She couldn't take him right now. In fact, she couldn't take him at all, but after a long day and martinis even more so than usually.

"No, I don't want to talk on the bus, Rory, there are people on the bus," he said, emphasising the last part of the sentence.

"Alright then, what do you want to talk about?"

"You know the press conference next week? Some guys are organising an after-party in a club and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me." The thought of Ethan in a club was so foreign she wanted to laugh. He was possibly the least fun-person she ever knew and the thought of going to a club and being accompanied by Ethan was just plain disturbing.

"I was thinking about skipping that."

"Please? Do it for me?" The surprise that the begging in his tone brought immediately made her sober up a bit. She looked at him carefully with her eyes widening.

"Why do you want me to come with you?" she asked, and not soon enough, she realised she didn't want to know.

"I figured we could spend some time together, we didn't have much opportunity lately." Of course they didn't, because she was avoiding him since that talk on the bus when he accused her of spending the night with Jess. She sensed that she had to cut off this conversation but Ethan moved a step closer to her and she was getting really uncomfortable. "I like you, Rory, and I want you to give us a go. Before we head to Philadelphia again and you'll have a chance to see your friend," he pronounced the last word spitefully and looked her in the eyes.

She stared at him too, not really sure what to do or how to answer him. She was pretty sure he was a lunatic, asking her out and saying that after all the pushing away signals she gave him. He started talking again but her mind didn't register a word he said. Hoping that she would miraculously disappear from the hallway didn't seem to do much so she decided to act. She slowly reached to her pocket where her cell phone was, traced number one with her finger, and then pressed 'call'. She waited for five seconds and then pressed 'end call', with her hand still in her pocket and pretending she was listening to Ethan. In reality, she was praying that her mother would call her back immediately. And she wasn't disappointed. She took her cell phone out of her pocket and picked it up, while Ethan stepped back.

"Hello?" That wasn't her mother. She must have pressed number seven by accident, because the voice that greeted her was definitely a male one, and she knew it very well. She didn't have time to think about it, so she just went on with what she came up with previously.

"Hey mom." There was silence on the other end of the line but the important thing was that she was getting further and further away from Ethan.

"Rory?" she heard the voice on the phone.

"Mom, what's wrong?" she acted concerned.

"Rory, you do realise I'm not your mother?"

"Of course, mom. Do you need me to come home?"

"No, sweets, that would be unnecessary. Me and George Clooney here will be fine," he said and she had to turn away from Ethan to hide her smile at his Lorelai expression and the fact that he figured out what she was playing at.

"Okay mom, just be careful."

"Huh, you don't want a sibling by George?"

She had to dig her fingernails into her flesh to stop herself from laughing out loud. "You are the craziest mother I've ever had. I'll call you in three minutes," she put her phone away and turned around to Ethan, shouted "sorry, that was my mom, I've got to go!" and then run in the direction opposite to her room and out of the hotel. When she was around the corner, she took her phone out again and pressed seven.

* * *

"Hey," Jess picked up.

"You are totally my hero!"

"Don't flirt with me, Gilmore," he teased.

"Don't tell me what to do, Mariano!" Rory deadpanned.

"So you admit you're flirting?"

"'Flirting is a woman's trade, one must keep in practice'" she said sweetly.

"Did you just quote _Becoming Jane_?"

"I can't believe you recognised the quotation! Did you actually see the film?"

"Only because Anne Hathaway is pretty."

"Pretty?" she smiled widely. "Aw, you old softie."

"Shut up or I'll continue and you'll end up calling me a pig instead."

"You've already presented me with the possibilities of your dirty mind five minutes ago, thank you. As to you watching _Becoming Jane_ I'm really in no position to judge since I've watched the library scene about six hundred times just for The Smirk."

She was pretty convinced there were two people in the universe capable of the real Smirk. Heart melting, intoxicating and irresistible. When she was seventeen she was able to catch it live, more even, she was the one causing it. These days she was resorting to watching Tom Lefroy smirk after telling Jane Austen her horizons must be... widened.

"Good to know. What did I save you from, anyway?"

"Take a guess."

"Ethan guy again?"

"Yup."

"What was it this time?" he chuckled, "Cause, you know, I'm breaking the guys-only weekend rule number one by talking to you, so it better be worth it."

"I would think so, he basically proclaimed his love for me."

"Huh. You seem to be taking that rather lightly. The poor guy is probably heartbroken," he joked.

"I'm just a regular heartbreaker," she said lightly but he couldn't help thinking bitterly that he knows something about that . A lot, actually. "Besides, I had too much to drink tonight to be bothered by that. Anyhow, tell me, how is your trip going?" she demanded excitedly.

"Quiet mostly. Lots of salty water around."

"Did you catch any fish?"

"Did you actually think I was going to be fishing?"

She pretended to think for a second. "Hmm, no."

"Thank you."

"So what did you do all day?"

"Nothing much, just some reading and writing."

"What writing?"

"We've been over this, you're not getting anything about my writing out of me, Rory."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"I'm pouting here."

"No."

"You're mean. What reading then?"

"Vonnegut. Just finished _Mother Night._"

"Good, but _Cat's Cradle _is better," she stated as if there was no argument there.

"No way, it's just more popular and might be easier to relate to. _Jailbird_ is the best one if you'd ask me, but of course you wouldn't."

"You know me too well," she sneered. "More book talk soon? I'm exhausted and I have to figure out how to get back to my room without him seeing me."

"Good luck with that."

"Thanks. Goodnight Jess."

"Night."

* * *

The boat had all the sufficient sleeping space for the four of them so they decided against stepping on land to find an accommodation for the night. Chris wanted to set off again early so that he could treat his friends to sunrise at the ocean.

After his conversation with Rory, Jess settled on the boat and watched the darkness ahead. He downed several bottles of beer, partly because George was drunk already and was reciting his poems and partly because she got him confused again. As always with Rory, he felt too much and the feelings were conflicted. It felt good being able to talk to her again. Surprisingly comfortable, he would even say. And he was scared of that because even if now they were friends and only friends, more than ever before, their history wasn't exactly in favour of them staying that way. He knew that if he would let himself, he could... love her again. But he couldn't do that, for the sake of his sanity, he couldn't. It hurt too much. So he made a solemn promise to himself never ever to make a move and with such a decision he fell asleep, curled up between the mast and the board.

* * *

He woke up a couple of hours later and he felt the boat moving smoothly. He also felt a sharp pain in his neck from his uncomfortable sleeping position and in his head, probably from the mixture of alcohol and serious thinking. The last thing he registered was an arm loosely hanging on his waist. He raised both of his to check whether the arm belonged to him and he was just hangover and therefore delirious but he discovered that it wasn't it. Then he turned around.

"George! What the fuck?" he yelled, standing up as fast as he could and brushed off his jumper.

Chris and Matt were already wide awake and fishing. They started laughing at Jess' exclamation.

"Aww, Jess, you guys were so cute!" Matt said, earning a murderous glare from his friend.

"Do you think we should tell him about last night's lyrical poetry?" Chris whispered to Matt with amusement.

"Nah, save it for tonight. Tonight is confessions night."

* * *

"Why the hell are we doing this again?" It was dark and they sat on the boat in a circle, Jess taking special care to be as far away from George as possible. There was a candle in the middle, each of them had a bottle of beer in their hands and they were passing a giant pack of crisps around.

"Harriet took me to a slumber party once, turns out this is a great idea for sharing," Matt answered, taking a gulp of his beer.

"Oh, really, sharing, Matt? Last time I checked it was plainly called gossiping. We came here for a guys weekend and now we're playing girls?"

"Hey! Sharing can be manly. Let me start."

"Go on then," Jess said with resignation.

"Well... I want move in with Harriet." Chris and Jess stared at him.

"Hang on, buddy," Chris started, "as in... you want her to move in with us?"

"No, I want to move in with her. She's got the perfect apartment. Only two blocks away from Truncheon."

"So you're gonna tell her you want to move in into her apartment?" Jess repeated rather dumbly.

"No, I'm a guy, I can't ask her that. This is where you two come in."

Chris looked at Jess with confusion before returning his eyes to Matt. "We're guys too," he announced the great discovery, making Jess smirk and hide it behind his bottle of beer.

"Seriously? Didn't realise that before," Matt replied sarcastically. "I mean I'm the guy in this relationship, I can't ask the girl if I can move to her place, that's pure emasculation."

"So what's our role in this?"

"You kick me out. She'll take pity on me and take me under her roof."

"So you can't ask her but it's okay that she takes pity on you. Matt, if I only had your brain - " Jess teased. "What excuse do we use for kicking you out? Lice?"

"I'll think about it and get back to you on that. What do you think about the idea anyway?"

"We'll have to find a new roommate. But it's good that you two are moving forward," Jess shrugged, now in all seriousness. "Just be careful with her."

"Hey, are you my best friend or hers?" Matt exclaimed and saw Jess' scowl. "Okay, stupid question. Chris, you're okay with that?"

"If the new roommate is a girl then I'm more than okay."

"Man, can you stop thinking about getting laid for a moment?" Jess asked with a raised brow.

"No, you can't stop me from thinking, that's not fair."

"Reed, you seem to be forgetting that Mariano here is being all for celibacy all of the sudden," Matt offered.

"But he's a weirdo and he's doing that by choice," Chris deadpanned.

"Great, so just because I haven't slept with anyone in a while you either make me victim or a weirdo," Jess scoffed.

"I'm just saying, twenty-three is not exactly a time for a dry-spell if you can help it."

"Can we drop this?" Jess hated that the guys knew so much about his personal life and could call him on it anytime. He hated to be regarded as a victim, but he hated to explain his reasoning behind it even more because it made him appear all soft and weak. It wasn't like he couldn't get a girl, it was that he had enough meaningless sex to last him a lifetime. He just didn't want that anymore. And he really couldn't be bothered to date. He was too much of a loner still to make chitchat with girls unless he really knew they were worth it.

"George, you talk."

"Huh?" he seemed to be buried deep in thought.

"Confess something. Anything."

"I uh... I have nothing to tell," he stumbled on the words.

"Come on, we all know you're a poet, you're supposed to be all mysterious and stuff but you could have told us you're gay. It's not like we're gonna make a problem out of that. Except Jess maybe, I'm not sure how he'd react to your lyrical poetry now that he's sober." Matt was enjoying himself and the situation beyond words.

Jess' glare travelled from Matt to George. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Now, now, my friend, no reason to get defensive. George wrote a poem for you and recited it to you last night but you were out of it already. No big deal. And as your best friends, me and Chris certainly like knowing that you are loved."

"Oh yeah. Let me get this straight though, George," Chris interjected. "All the magazines you brought..."

"A cover, yes," George confirmed.

"So you don't really like them?" Chris continued.

"No."

"Can I have them then?"

Jess' head fell on his elbow which rested on his knee in attempt to distance himself from all this. "Freaking amazing," he mumbled.

"Mariano!"

"What?"

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

Matt looked at him carefully, his eyes growing cold. "You fucking talked to Rory again, didn't you? Come on, I can see you want to say something."

"Can I ask you guys a favour?" Jess asked with vulnerability that Chris and Matt already knew only Rory could make him feel. "If I ever lose my mind, make sure I don't make a move on her, alright?"

* * *

A/N: That's chapter 5 for you. I had a lot of trouble resolving the issue of Jess' love life but after thinking a lot about it and talking to some people I decided to go through with this version. Because if you look closely at him on the show, he really is a softie and a romantic behind all his coolness. That's my opinion anyway, I'd be delighted to see what you think so review please! Direct Lit interaction coming up in the next chapter. And I'm not saying anything more.


	6. The Friends And Family

**Disclaimer: The Gilmore Girls are certainly not mine. Harriet, on the other hand, is entirely my creation. I only wish I owned Truncheon with everything/one in it. **

* * *

She was in Philadelphia again. They talked on the phone a couple of times since the weekend he was on that trip with his friends. They arranged to meet at Truncheon again after she finished work for the day because she wanted to meet his co-workers and friends. She saw Matt and Chris briefly before but she was really curious about that Harriet that Jess mentioned a couple of times.

She entered the building and climbed the stairs leading to the shop and office. The spacious room had four desks in the middle and all walls covered in books. She recognised Matt behind one of the desks and Jess sitting behind another, focused on typing something on his computer. She stopped for a moment to absorb the cosiness of the scene until Matt looked up at her.

"Ah, you're Rory," he stated rather coldly, scratching his head.

She nodded in response. "Hi." Awkward silence proceeded as Jess continued typing, not noticing the world around him.

"Mariano!" Matt exclaimed, making his friend jump up in his seat. "I know how important your writing is but could you maybe favour us with your full presence every now and again?"

"And get involved in your craziness? I don't think so," he said as he walked up to Rory to give her a brief one-armed hug. "Hey."

"Hi Jess. Sorry I'm here a bit early."

"No worries. How are you?"

"I'm good." She looked around. "Wow, the place looks great! There's even more books than before. Do you have a ladder to get to the highest shelves, you know, like in _Funny Face_?" she asked excitedly.

"No, we only keep the bad stuff that no one wants to read up there," Jess smirked. "So you've met Matt already, right?"

"Yeah, we've met." The first time she came there and left Jess a total freaking mess. Matt tactfully refrained from adding that. He didn't know the details of what happened on the night of the open house but he held Rory entirely responsible for his friend's breakdown and was sceptical about her visit.

Then they heard steps and voices of people coming up the stairs. As soon as the two other Truncheon workers entered, Chris couldn't help himself and stared at Rory until Harriet nudged him with an elbow.

"Hi," she said with a smile, "Jessica, introduce me?"

Jess rolled his eyes. "Rory, this is Harry. Harry, Rory," he pointed between the women.

"Harriet," she corrected him, "I've heard a lot about you."

Rory blushed and looked down at her shoes for a second, missing Jess mouthing "you're dead" to Harriet.

"Nice to meet you, Harriet. Hi Chris."

"Hi Rory. Will you marry me?"

Jess scoffed at his friend's antics. "Way to start, Reed, then you stay up all night wondering why there's so many women around you. Rory, excuse him, he's just the textbook definition of 'mental'". She chuckled. "Here's an idea, next time I go to Stars Hollow I'll drop him there, he'd fit right in, don't you think?"

"I bet Miss Patty wouldn't mind giving him a home," Rory answered, thoroughly amused by the banter going on around her. It was all bizarre, but it felt like she could get comfortable in this place. Plus there was the whole creative vibe they talked about before.

"You guys have any plans for tonight?" Chris asked.

Jess looked at Rory, she shrugged. "Nothing in particular, why?"

"Because I've cooked dinner. Mac and Cheese à la Reed, there's enough for everyone."

"You cook?" Rory looked at him with curiosity. "You know, I might just consider that proposal of yours." Chris shot her a wide grin. "Jess, do you mind if we stay?"

"I couldn't stand in a way of you and your intended getting to know each other, could I?"

"Guess not."

* * *

"Chris, you're a god in the kitchen, I love you," Harriet announced, putting her fork and knife on her empty plate. Jess and Rory seconded her view with a series of content murmurs.

"I'm going to be the best boyfriend ever and pretend that I didn't hear you profess your love to my best friend," Matt pouted. He was unnaturally grumpy throughout dinner and the pout came easily.

Harriet leaned over to his ear and whispered, "shut up, you're a god elsewhere." Suddenly the other three saw him expose all of his teeth in a huge grin. "I wouldn't mind if you learned to cook though," she said aloud now, propping herself up with her elbow on his shoulder, "maybe you can get Chris to give you some lessons instead of paying you for killing your stick insects."

"That sounds pretty fair," Matt mused.

"I'm such a brilliant businesswoman, the stick insects are gone and he learns to cook," Harriet smiled smugly, directing her comment at Jess.

"You're not getting a raise for that," he smirked, shaking his head.

"Oh, come on, I desperately need new shoes!" Harriet batted her eyelashes.

"Matthew, control your woman," Jess teased. This never failed to get to her and earned Jess a playful smack over the head. "Oww!"

"Don't be a baby."

"Okay, mom." Another smack. "Harry, now, I can put up with your domestic violence but you might want to hide it from our guest, you know?"

Rory watched the interaction with a smile, occasionally getting involved. Jess had friends. Close friends, from the looks of it. She still found the concept hard to grasp but she was really happy for him. In fact she was pretty happy herself, she was enjoying the homelike craziness.

"Nah, the worst that could happen is that I can tell my mom that you actually seem to be enjoying other people's company, imagine what a scandal that would be," she grinned.

Harriet adopted a baby voice. "We couldn't let our boy here pretend that he hates the world anymore, could we?" Jess scowled at her and she changed the subject. "So, you kids have any plans for tomorrow? If you do then count us out because me and Matt are going on a date."

"Jess, do you have time tomorrow night? I was hoping to get you to run up the stairs to the Museum of Art. And obviously I don't mean real running since it's a physical activity which I frown upon but you know what I mean. Chris, maybe you could come along?" Rory rambled.

"I uh, kinda have a date too," Jess answered uncertainly.

"Oh, right." Well, they pretty much expected something awkward to happen eventually. "Nora?" He mentioned during one of their phone conversations that he's met with that girl twice.

"Yeah. Actually, let me call her," he got up from his chair.

"Jess, no! You can't cancel your date just to pretend to be Rocky with me!"

"Who said anything about cancelling? Just re-scheduling," he shrugged and left the room, not aware of the fact that Rory stared down at her nails while Harriet, Matt and Chris exchanged meaningful looks.

* * *

He entered his room and dialled the number. Two rings and she picked up.

"Jess!" she greeted him enthusiastically.

"Hey Nora, what's up?"

"Wow, one and a half dates and we're already at the stage when you call me and casually ask me what's up?"

"Yeah well, I am smarter and hence faster than most," he smirked.

"More modest, certainly. So let me guess, something came up and you cannot make it tomorrow."

"Are you psychic and forgot to mention it last week?"

"Yes," she sighed dramatically. "Shame, though, I was looking forward to seeing you."

"Yeah, sorry about that, we should work out something during the week if you're free. It's just that an old friend is in town for work and we wanted to hang out with her a bit."

"Funny that," she said. Lightly, not bitterly.

"What, why?"

"I have an old friend in town as well. Yours is a girl?"

"Yeah," he answered with confusion.

"Single?"

"As far as I know," he gave a cautious answer.

"How about we make it a double date and sort of set them up? Oooh, seriously, that would be so much fun!"

"Erm... I guess," Jess said, still trying to catch on.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow Jess!" she ended the call before he could protest.

"Yeah. Bye Nora."

Then it started to sink in that he just got Rory into a double date with some guy he knew nothing about, plus himself and Nora. He just had to congratulate himself on his idiocy.

* * *

"Rory, can I talk to you? Preferably in the hall, where there's no sharp cutlery?"

"No way, I'm stuffed, you won't be able to get me out of this chair for at least an hour."

"Okay, but please don't throw forks at me," he pulled a face. "I kinda agreed to Nora's proposition of a double date tomorrow night, she's bringing along a friend of hers."

"Jess!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I don't know how I said yes to that but I did. But if that's any consolation that guy is probably as mad at Nora as you're at me."

"What's his name?"

"I don't know."

"How old is he?"

"Not a clue."

"You're such a great friend, Jess, setting me up with someone you know nothing about!" she said and threw a spoon at him.

"Hey!"

"That's just for now! But if the guy isn't nice I'm using forks and knives and any other torture tools I can find around the place!"

"There's a Britney Spears record on the shelf in the living room, feel free to use it, it makes him cringe like crazy," Harriet added.

* * *

Jess went to his room to get some CDs and while he was looking through his non-systematic shelves, Matt joined him and closed the door behind him.

"Jess, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" Matt sounded suspiciously serious, and considering that he rarely was, Jess got alarmed.

"What do you mean?" he asked with a frown.

"You want to take your ex on a double date? How much of an ass are you?"

"Matt, no," he shook his head. "Rory and I are friends first, then exes."

"It sure seemed like that when she came to the open house and left you a fucking mess. You know, if anything like that happens again, you're screwed 'cause I've stopped working out and I'm sure as hell not gonna drag you home from some random girl's apartment because she called to say that you passed out on her kitchen floor!"

"It's not gonna happen again, Matt! Thanks for the freaking recap though!"

"You're welcome!" he yelled.

"What is it that you want exactly?"

"What do I want? You were the one who asked to make sure that you won't make a move on Rory. Now you're not even making a move on her, you're messing with her head and with yours too by dragging her into some bizarr-o friend-ish thing. I know you want to be friends with her, Jess, but she's still your ex and you need to know the limits. Especially since she's not just an ex but the ex." He exhaled deeply. "There, I said what I wanted to say, let's just go to the kitchen and pretend that we didn't just yell at each other," Matt said the last sentence quieter. Jess nodded and they left the room.

* * *

After some more time filled with good-natured banter and visible tension between Matt and Jess, Harriet and Matt said good night and left for their apartment, Chris went to his room leaving Jess and Rory alone in the kitchen. He was systematically washing a pile of dishes and she stared through the window at nothing in particular, suddenly feeling nostalgic and lonely.

"Rory, you're okay?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you?" he tilted his head to get a better look at her.

"On the couch in the Crap Shack, watching Casablanca with mom," she said with a sad smile.

"Ah."

"I just miss her," she shrugged, not noticing that her eyes started to fill with tears. "A lot. I don't know, I just never really had to go such a long time without seeing her, except when we had that stupid fight because I dropped out of Yale. But now we're fine and it's been a month since she got her wedding dress and I still haven't seen it and I hate that. Not the fact that I haven't seen the dress, just that it's huge and I'm not there for her, you know? And now she's going to marry Luke which I'm really happy about and probably have half a dozen babies and forget all about me because I'm not home anyway."

"Rory, are you listening to yourself?" he said with a smirk but there was warmth in his eyes.

But she was in her own little world, not really caring about what she was saying, just feeling lonely. "Jess, is it... is it okay if I hug you? I mean, wouldn't that be weird and totally inappropriate?"

He sighed. "Come here." In response she wrapped her arms around his torso like a little kid and hid her face in his shoulder. His arms automatically encircled her shoulders. And they stood like that for goodness knows how long, afraid to admit to themselves that the proximity of each other scared them and yet not wanting to pull away.

There was no better way to stop Rory from thinking about Lorelai. How could she? When Jess was so close.

It was strange, because her mother was always the first person on her mind. Her mother but also her best friend, first of all. But now that she was in his arms, thinking about him, not her mom, admitting to herself that he still knew her better than anyone and re-evaluating who her best friend was.

Not necessarily was her mother being pushed down on that list, but he was certainly being pushed up. Or pushing himself up.

All this was crossing her mind without any sort of order, without knowing where she was, just lost in warmth. It didn't matter that it was his warmth.

But after some time her haze finally turned into awareness. Acute awareness of the fact that he was holding her, that his biceps were resting on her upper arms, that he gained some muscle since she last hugged him properly yet he was still really thin. That he smelled of cologne and, if that was even possible, freshly printed books. That he was still very freaking h... No, she could not let herself think that. He was a friend. Soon to be family.

But when he released her she had to stifle a disappointed murmur.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your hotel, it's late."

"Thanks, Jess. You're the best friend a girl could have," she told him sincerely, just above a whisper.

He just shrugged.

They went out to the hall where Chris appeared to be looking for something in the pocket of his jacket.

"You're going?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Mind if I tag along? I feel like taking a walk."

* * *

"So, she's nice," Chris said when him and Jess turned around and started walking back home, both with their hands deep in their pockets.

"You already proposed to her buddy, I kinda figured that you liked her," Jess said with a smirk.

"Well, your friends are my friends!" he exclaimed dramatically. "Though I guess this rule shouldn't apply to girlfriends, even if they're exes."

Jess chuckled. "Nah, you can be friends with Rory. Why would I have a problem with that?" he asked rhetorically.

Chris wanted to say something bitter and painfully honest, that it was clear that Jess and Rory couldn't possibly be friends for long but he bit it back. "Cool. She seems to fit in the family." Jess clearly noticed the choice of the word.

"What made you come with us anyway? And don't lie, 'cause I know that you're the 'crossing the road to get his daily sport' kind of person," Jess quoted a Libertines' song.

"Good tune," he remarked. "I saw your epic hug in the kitchen."

"Ah." That was Jess' way of saying that he appreciated it. When they were on their boat trip and he asked Matt and Chris to make sure that he wouldn't make a move on Rory in case he wouldn't able to control himself for whatever reason, he knew he could count on them. But he would never in his life imagine that they would get so involved in order to keep him... What was it? Safe? Sane?

And he suddenly understood Chris' use of the word 'family'.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. Please write a couple of words and tell me what you thought! More Rory in Philly in the next chapter.


	7. The Double Trouble

**A/N: Thank you for a great response for chapter six! Please keep it up and enjoy the quick updates while they last.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Gilmores. **

* * *

Rory had a press conference to attend late in the afternoon so when it finished she went straight to Truncheon instead of her hotel, with a change of clothes in her bag.

When she got there Jess was on the phone in the office and only motioned to her to go into the apartment and get ready. She disappeared in the bathroom and took her time putting her make up on and trying to put her hair up then down and up again.

It had been a long while since she's been on a date. Truthfully, it was since Logan. She didn't even have proper going out clothes with her but after Jess assured her the outing was meant to be pretty casual, she chose to wear a ruffled navy dress that loosely hang down just above her knees. She heard the door to the apartment open and Chris entered yelling 'hey Rory!' She shouted 'hey' back and when she finally left the bathroom just because she left her lipstick in her purse on the couch, Chris and Jess were standing in the middle of the living room looking through some papers.

"Hey, Jess, I'll be ready in three minutes."

"Yeah, ok." When she got back to the bathroom, Chris let out an approving whistle while Jess turned around and groaned, hiding his face in his palms.

"Remind me again why you are being a moron and refusing to do anything about it?" Chris nodded in the direction of the bathroom.

"Because she's my friend and I don't want to fuck it up?"

"How do you know you will?"

"Track record."

"You've changed."

"There's too much history. Friends is good."

"With someone who's as hot as her? Yeah, right."

"Shut up, she's coming."

"Sorry about that, we can go now," Rory chimed in.

"Have fun on your date guys," Chris grinned, receiving a glare from Jess who held the door open for Rory.

* * *

"There she is," Jess said as they entered the bar and sent a smile in the direction of a petite girl with long black hair. Nora waved and said something to a guy sitting next to her. Rory, in the meantime froze in her spot.

"Rory?" Jess raised his eyebrows at her. "Something wrong? Please tell me it's not one of those situations and you know each other or something equally freaky?"

"It's worse!"

"What? What is it?"

"This!" she waved her arms frantically.

"And you call me monosyllabic?" He wanted to smirk but he was too confused.

"This, look!" He measured her with his eyes carefully as per her request, trying to ignore the fact that the neckline of her dress was pretty low. "The dress, Jess, the dress!" she said, almost hysterically. "She's wearing an identical one! Oh, my God, I can't go over there, I'm sorry!" she turned on her heel but he caught her arm.

"Rory, hey! Calm down. So you're wearing the same dresses, big deal, that means that you both have good taste," he tried to reassure her. "Now come on or they might think that we're talking about them". His sarcastic remark did the job and they moved towards the table, Rory dragging her feet and blushing furiously.

"Hi," Nora said and kissed Jess on the cheek. They looked so cute together Rory just had to wince. "Nice dress," Nora addressed Rory with a smile.

"Yeah, yours too," she answered uncomfortably.

"Don't worry, we'll take pictures and end up laughing about it. I'm Nora, by the way, and this is Josh."

"Rory," she gave a little wave.

"Jess," he extended his arm to shake Josh's hand.

"Hi," Josh accepted warily with a cold expression.

"Okay," Nora noticed her friend's face and tried to make up for it with her own smile. "Now that we all know each other, I suppose we should sit down. What is everyone drinking?"

"Scotch," was Josh's grumpy response.

Jess raised his eyebrow. He was used to being the most snappy one in the company and yet here he was being beaten. "Rory?" he looked at her questionably.

"Piña Colada for me, I think."

"Nor?"

The girl looked up from the menu. "Don't laugh, but I feel like having something pink."

Rory chuckled.

"You weren't supposed to laugh," Nora said in a mock-hurt voice.

"Sorry, it just reminded me of my twenty-first when my grandmother threw me a party and invented a custom pink drink and obviously called it Rory."

"Sounds disgusting."

"It was."

"You never mentioned it," Jess said to her.

"Well, you weren't around at the time," Rory answered and then flinched at the memory of him making an appearance a couple of weeks later. When he came back and fixed her life with a couple of sentences. And wished her happy birthday. He wished her happy birthday and it made her even more mad at Logan and their relationship because they were sleeping together and yet he had no idea when her birthday was.

"So how long have you two been friends?" Nora asked with genuine interest on her face.

Rory and Jess both shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They didn't want to say it was a couple of months. He referred to her as an 'old friend' on the phone after all.

"We've met back when we were in high school," Rory answered elusively.

"That's sweet!"

"Yeah, and now we're pretty much family since my mom and his uncle are engaged."

Jess gave her a look which was supposed to be neutral but was hurtful instead. Regardless of what was going on between them now, he spent about half of his fully conscious life pining for her. And in the end he got reduced to being her cousin, of all things.

"But you were together at some point, weren't you?"

"How can you tell?"

"I'm just an excellent people watcher. See, we-" she motioned between herself and Josh, "knew each other since we were kids, our parents were always really close, so we were too. Then we dated for three years in high school but we ended things because we didn't want to do long distance when we went to college and after that we went back to the best friends mode."

"Wow."

"Excuse me," Josh stood up from his seat moving his chair loudly and stormed in the direction of the bar.

Nora frowned in confusion. "Sorry about that guys, he's been acting a bit weird lately. I'll be right back," she stood up and followed him.

"So I guess the torture tools are awaiting me," Jess turned to Rory.

"Aww, poor guy," she ignored his comment and looked at Nora and Josh who were now clearly arguing. "Sorry to break it to you, my friend, but my date is totally in love with your date."

"I'm not blind."

"Her people watching skills don't work on him."

"Clearly."

"So what you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing, it's her call."

"She's nice." As much as it pained her to say that, it was true. And she wanted to be supportive, she wanted Jess to be happy.

"Yup."

"I was just about to say that you've always had good taste but then I remembered Shane," Rory said, laughing.

"She wasn't that bad, you know. True, you couldn't have a proper conversation with-"

"Oh!" Rory's exclamation interrupted him mid-sentence.

"What?"

"He just kissed her!" she whispered.

"Rory, I swear, stop looking at them."

"Act as if you know nothing, Nora's coming over."

Nora indeed approached the table, wiping her eyes frantically.

"Guys, I'm really, really sorry about all this but I have to go," she said and sniffed. "Rory, it was nice to meet you. Jess, I'll give you a call," she made a brief eye contact with him and stormed out.

"Quite a date."

"I always hated them. Official ones."

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming back here tonight," Chris said.

"Yeah, I left my stuff here. Oh man, my feet are killing me!" Rory said as she sat on the couch in the living room above Truncheon. "What are you reading, Chris?"

"_The Trial_. How was the date?"

"Eventful," Jess murmured.

"Our dates sort of got together and then she left."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Do you think I should call her and ask if she's okay?"

"It looked like she wanted to be alone, Jess. A text might be nice though." Huh. Who ever thought that she would end up giving relationship tips to Jess Mariano himself?

She wanted to melt at how sweet it was that he would even consider contacting Nora on his own accord but then she remembered how inconsiderate he used to be when they dated themselves and decided against it.

"I know that this is totally blunt of me but could someone possibly give me a ride to my hotel? I can't take a step more in these shoes and I suppose public transport isn't working at this hour."

"I would but I drank, Rory," Jess looked at her apologetically.

"I would but I don't have a driving licence, I have a medically stated fear of cars, in fact."

"Reed, there's no such thing."

"Whatever, Mariano. Rory, we have a spare room though, there's still some of Matt's stuff in there but you could stay the night if you want."

"Could I?" she looked at Jess.

He shrugged. "Sure."

"You can even help yourself to a toothbrush."

"He changes them weekly and always has at least five new ones in stock," Jess explained. "Come on, I'll find you a towel then and there should be some of Harriet's pyjamas, is that okay?"

She smiled at him gratefully and followed him to the bathroom.

Chris looked after them and smirked.

* * *

Showered and dressed in a pair of grey pyjama trousers and a white t-shirt, Rory sat on the bed in Matt's old room. She opened her laptop to finish her latest article. After a couple of minutes, Chris' head peeked through the half-open door.

"Did you settle alright?"

"Yes I did, thanks so much for letting me stay here."

"No problem. You're still working?"

"Almost finished, actually I was just waiting for Jess to ask him if he could edit it."

"Ah, I wouldn't count on it anytime soon, he takes ages in the bathroom because his hair is never behaving apparently. Maybe I could help though?"

"Can you do that?"

"Excuse me, have you noticed this is a publishing house?" Chris motioned around with his hand.

"Right, sorry," Rory laughed.

"Show me, then," he said and sat next to her on the bed.

She was actually surprised at the skilfulness with which he proofread her article. They went through it thoroughly, discussing its content.

After some time Jess left the bathroom and stood in the doorframe of Matt's bedroom. He didn't give a second thought to the fact that he was shirtless. He looked at Chris and Rory sitting next to each other, Indian style, on the queen sized bed, intently reading something on Rory's laptop. Chris looked up first.

"Hey, lady present!" he leaned over to a drawer still full of Matt's clothes and grabbed the first black t-shirt from the top and threw it to Jess. He unfolded it and frowned seeing that it was Harriet's infamous 'we can make you do things' shirt.

"Thanks," Jess said sarcastically and threw it back so that it landed on Chris' head. Rory sheepishly looked away from Jess' chest but couldn't help a chuckle escaping her mouth.

"Get decent and come back here, we can't decide whether or not Rory should keep this sentence in."

"Be right back," Jess said and disappeared.

Two minutes later he stood in the doorframe again, clad in a black T-shirt of his own and with three bottles of water in his hands.

"Reed!"

"Don't!" Rory managed to cry, seeing that Jess was about to throw the bottle to Chris who had her laptop in front of him.

He caught it skilfully and turned to her, raising his eyebrow. "You seriously doubted me?" Chris asked. She nudged him with her elbow and took her water from Jess as he plopped on the bed next to them.

"So what did you want me to look at?"

"Here," Chris turned around the laptop to Jess.

He took a minute reading, sipping his water. "This needs to go," he pointed at a line. "As does this, totally unnecessary."

"What? Jess, this is the key phrase of the entire article!" Rory defended her work.

"Nope, you've pretty much said that already up here," he continued pointing out sentences. "And it would sound better if you said 'undisputed' instead of 'unquestionable' here."

"Oh yeah, it does sound better," Chris said approvingly.

"Otherwise it's great."

"Thanks guys, even though you're being undisputedly annoying," she smiled up at them.

"Come on, save it now and give it a rest, we've got a game of poker to play," Chris said and snatched a pack of cards from the nightstand, giving it out to Rory and Jess.


	8. The Realisation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.**

* * *

"Harriet, Jess, I need your attention for a moment," Matt said as he walked into the office together with Chris. "What do you want to do for your birthdays this year? You want a shared one again or celebrate separately day after day?"

"I know what I don't want to do," Harriet announced.

"And what would that be?"

"I don't want to go out. I refuse to have my birthday ruined because of a dozen sluts who come up to wish Mariano happy birthday and offer him an after-party."

Jess's trademark smirk appeared on his face. "It wasn't a dozen, just seven if I recall correctly."

"Come on, you don't want those blasts from the past anyway. That girl who was convinced your name was Tess was hysterical though, I have to give her that."

"So you want to stay in?"

"How about we stay in and celebrate all together on Jess's birthday and on mine I'll have time with my boy?" Harriet smiled at Matt.

"Sounds good."

"Plans approved," Jess added, sighing. He hated birthdays. They carried unpleasant memories from his childhood and memories of awkwardness from the years of his adolescence. He'd much rather ignore them but the guys and Harriet wouldn't let him.

"You want to invite anyone else?" Chris asked.

"Like who?"

"Your mother and her hilarious husband?"

"Shut up."

"Rory?"

"She'll be in Denver."

"You know her campaign timetable?"

"No, she just told me when we talked about my birthday."

"Since when do you talk to people about your birthday?" Harriet inquired.

"You guys have any more questions? You should know by now that I answer them on Tuesdays and Fridays between 8:40 and 9:00pm."

"Wise ass."

"So you keep telling me."

* * *

"Hey Lane!" Rory said cheerfully into the phone.

"Hey Rory, where are you today?"

"Salt Lake City. How are you?"

"Tired. Zach was snoring last night."

"The charm of living with a guy. My sympathies."

"Thanks. Did your mom tell you what happened in town last night?" Lane asked and then turned away from the phone. "Steve, no, you cannot eat guitar picks my boy, put them away!" Rory heard a baby whimper and some rustle on the line. "Sorry, I'm back. I've discovered a new way of distinguishing them, by the way. Steve has a thing for guitars, Kwan for drums. Anyway, where were we?"

"We were at something that happened in town that my mom hasn't told me about because I haven't talked to her since yesterday," Rory said swiftly.

"Ok. Well, you know the old weeping willow on Peach Street?"

"The one that we used pretend was Grandmother Willow?"

"Yes, the one. Some kid climbed it and fell down breaking his leg and now Taylor wants to chop it down because it doesn't meet the requirements of the Stars Hollow Tree Health and Safety Committee."

"No!"

"I know!"

"That's too bad because I could use Grandmother Willow's advice now."

"Oh yeah? Go on, I'll try to fill in for her."

"You might even be more helpful, especially since we had a similar conversation years ago."

"Okay."

"Jess' birthday is coming up."

"I'm pretty sure we never talked about this."

"No, I know. I want to get him a present. But what do I get for an ex who is now a good friend? I thought about a book but last time you compared it to... Czechoslovakian football I think?"

"Oh, I remember. But that was different. Firstly, that was Dean. He didn't read unless you asked him to. Secondly, you were with him. This is Jess and you claim he's a friend and I think a book is good, your only problem might be finding something he doesn't already have."

"Very true."

"Was it helpful at all?"

"Yes, I'll find something."

"Listen, I've got to go, Kwan is climbing my drum set again."

"Sure, thanks Grandmother Willow."

"Anytime. How did it go? 'You know your path, now follow it'," Lane said in a deep voice.

Rory chuckled. "Bye Lane. Hug your boys from me."

"I will, bye Rory."

* * *

The guys gave him a day off work so he took the opportunity and wrote until 4 am, intending to sleep until noon. He always liked staying up all night writing. There was just something about the night. The lack of distractions. Or the fact that he didn't care that what he was writing was crazy. Painfully honest. There have been many times when during the day he had to delete entire paragraphs of his work because of that. Censor it so things weren't that obvious. But when it was dark and quiet and the only light was coming from his computer, he saw things more clearly.

And last night was certainly one of epiphanies. He couldn't sleep for a while even after finishing his writing and in the morning when he got awoken early by his cell phone, he reached to get it from the night stand and looked briefly at the display before letting his eyes shut again.

"Luke? What the hell, it's the middle of the night."

"It's 8 o'clock, Jess. Excuse me for wanting to wish my nephew happy birthday."

"Thanks, I guess."

"I didn't even say it yet." Jess grunted in response and turned to his back. "So yeah. You know I'm no good at this but happy birthday, Jess. From me and Lorelai."

"Oh. So now 'happy birthday' is code for 'I hope you get run over by a bus and no one will come to your funeral'?"

"Well, aren't we cheerful. I'm serious Jess. I don't know what you did to earn it but she doesn't hate you anymore. In fact after the last time you came here she even asked about you."

"In 'is he still alive' context," he rather stated then asked.

Luke sighed heavily. "So you're not liking being twenty-four, huh?"

"Not really."

"You'll get used to it."

"Thanks," Jess scoffed.

"Otherwise you're good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. How are the wedding preparations going?" he changed the subject.

"Good. We got the wedding rings yesterday."

"Nice."

"Yeah. Make sure that you have no holes in your pockets."

"I thought we're getting new suits."

"I don't know about that, Lorelai mentioned yesterday that she talked to Rory about it and they want us in tuxes."

"No freaking way!"

"Tell me about it, I did all the persuading I could have done."

"I don't want to know."

"No, you really don't. It's not officially confirmed yet though so we'll see."

"Okay. Work your magic, Uncle Luke. I really don't want to wear a tux at all, let alone in the middle of the summer."

"Good point. Right. Take care, Jess, we'll keep in touch."

"Sure thing, bye Luke."

He stared absentmindedly at the ceiling for a moment until someone knocked on the door to his room. It opened slowly and Harriet came in, trying to catch balance because of two full mugs she held in her hands.

"Happy birthday!" she said happily. "Oh crap, I spilled it!"

"What have you got in there?" Jess asked with amusement.

"Hot chocolate." She sat on his bed and handed him a blue mug. "Plain for you, vanilla for me."

"Thanks. To what do I owe this visit?"

"Your birthday. Plus, we have some catching up to do, we haven't talked properly for like what, two weeks?" Harriet said and sat up against the headboard of his bed.

"Okay."

"You gonna talk on your own or do you need me to ask questions?"

"I can talk." Jess took a sip of his drink, a shameless smirk growing on his face. "Did you know that cockroaches can live for nine days after having their head cut off?"

"You're hilarious."

"Thanks."

"Did Nora call you finally?"

Jess grimaced. "Yeah, she did. She's back with Josh."

"How are you?"

"Peachy. It sucks coz she was cool but it's not like there was anything more there."

"Well, look at you, going all soft in your old age, looking for 'something more'. And don't glare at me, Jess, you know I can take it. It's super sweet and any girl would be lucky to have you." At these words he hid his face in a pillow in embarrassment and she ruffled his hair.

"I don't want any girl," he muttered from behind the pillow.

"I know," she smiled softly, happy that he wasn't looking at her. She had exactly the same stance as him when it came to keeping up the tough exterior. "But get it together or you're gonna make me melt."

"Sorry." He lifted his head. "I can't have you melt here, I like my bed dry."

"I'm going to pretend that wasn't dirty at all," she laughed.

"Hey, you're the one with the dirty mind here, I meant what I said."

"Sure." She nodded in a mock-conciliatory manner. "How is Rory? And I mean in reality, not in your angelically pure mind."

"Are you implying that I'm picturing something?" he asked innocently.

"Jessica, you can deny lots of things, but not that you're a guy."

"Hey, I'm not denying that I'm a guy!"

"Then admit that you're attracted to Rory," she looked at him expectantly.

He was quiet for a couple of seconds. "That is so beside the point!" he whined.

Harriet smiled triumphantly and then sat motionlessly for a moment, considering something. "Did you realise yet that you have feelings for her or do you need me to tell you that?" she asked, blunt as ever.

Jess groaned. "Last night."

"Last night what?"

"I realised. I thought it went away but I guess it never can completely," he shrugged.

"And?"

"And I want to stay friends," he said with sharpness in his eyes.

"And you can control yourself?"

"You doubt my self control? I've been living and working with Matt and Chris for over three years now and I haven't killed any of them. Yet."

"Fair enough." Harriet sighed. "Do whatever you want, but in my humble as always opinion your self control will go to hell sooner or later. Or Rory's self control for that matter, you know? Maybe you shouldn't smirk this much when you're around her. And make sure she doesn't see you shirtless again. Or at least stop working out."

"You will never believe me when I say that I don't work out, will you?"

"Nope," Harriet smiled.

Jess shook his head, trying not to grin but failing miserably. "Can we please change the subject? My chest gets sheepish when it gets too much attention."

She didn't even blink. "So, my step-mother called yesterday to wish me happy birthday."

He raised his eyebrow. "Huh. Just two days off, that's a definite improvement from last year."

"I know, I'm so flattered!"

* * *

In the evening the four of them gathered in the living room of the apartment above Truncheon. They stood there slightly awkwardly, each with some gift bags and Chris with a cake in his hands.

Harriet looked around at the boys, checking their readiness to start the celebrations and decided to begin.

"Happy birthday to you, happy bir..." she stopped abruptly as Jess, Matt and Chris looked at her with amusement instead of joining her. She shook her head. " I can't believe I'm friends with three losers like you. I will get you to sing eventually."

"No, you won't. Not everyone has your fancy Harvard music degree."

"Because you really do need a degree in music to sing happy birthday to your best friend, Jess," she replied.

"Hey, we just care about you and don't want to expose your ears to this," Chris backed him up, gesturing to the other two.

"They're right," Matt nodded. "Did I ever tell you about how my sister glued my mouth together?" They started laughing.

"Which sister?"

"Gabby. She was five, I was four and she hated to hear me sing so she used glue to shut me up. And she told me it was lipstick."

"Poor boy," Harriet kissed his cheek.

"I know, I had a very hard childhood," he sighed. "Too many girls around."

"No such thing," Chris said. "I still want to meet them, you know. They sound interesting."

"As if I would introduce my sisters to you," Matt snickered. "Anyhow, guys, we got sidetracked."

"Right. Happy birthday, you two."

"Happy birthday!"

"O-kay, Matt, thanks, but no need to hug me, buddy," Jess took a step back.

"That's right, I'm the only one allowed to do that," Harriet grinned and embraced him in a friendly hug which Jess reciprocated.

"Happy birthday."

"You too."

"About this morning-" Jess started.

"It stays between us, I know."

"Thanks."

"Always here if you need me. But promise me you won't dismiss any other girls because I'm so important to you," she grinned.

Matt rose his eyes to the ceiling. "I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous," he murmured.

"Okay, enough," Harriet smiled and let go of Jess. "Otherwise Matt will decide against giving us our presents."

* * *

"Why didn't we make a rule that you keep your phones off tonight? First four calls to Harriet, now you," Matt complained. "Yumm, this cake is heavenly," he mumbled with his mouth full.

"I'll just be a minute," Jess picked up his cell wearily, seeing who the caller was.

"Jess!_"_ a cheerful husky voice welcomed him.

"Hi Liz."

"How is my birthday boy?"

"Good."

"Good. Well, me and TJ and Doula wish you a great birthday, kid. Oh, what I would give to be twenty-four again. My liver was so strong back then," she said wistfully.

Jess rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it was." Usually he would just continue and provoke his mother but this time he really didn't feel like having a fight with her. Maybe Harriet was right and he really was growing all soft as the years went by. That was shameful. "Liz, I've gotta go, we're having a gathering with the guys."

"Alright sweetie. Say hi to Harriet from me, okay?"

"Yeah, you say hi to Doula." He put the phone back on the table.

Chris looked at his watch. "Entire thirty-one seconds of conversation with your mother. You're getting better at this."

"Just pass me my drink, will you?"

"There. So, birthday people. You get to choose a movie each."

"Oooh, goodie. I can finally make you watch _Gone With The Wind_," Harriet said and gave them an evil smile.

"That counts for two movies at least. Too long. Jess, switch your freaking phone off!" Matt said while Chris picked it up from the table and looked at the display with a smirk.

"Tell Rory that I miss her." He passed the phone to Jess.

"Will do. Start the movie without me." He left the room while Matt shook his head, which didn't escape Harriet's attention. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room.

"Chris, excuse us, we just need five minutes to argue."

"Alright, good luck."

"Matthew, you can't do this," she said when they got into the kitchen.

"Do what?"

"Be so hostile towards Rory."

"I don't trust her."

"But you trust Jess. So try and understand that if he wants to be friends with her so badly, then it must be really important to him. I love how protective you are of him but you cannot do anything about it."

Matt run his hand through his hair. "I just don't want to see him so screwed up again. And she can do that to him."

"I know, I saw for myself. But I don't like that you trying to protect him is partially for your own selfish reasons."

"Okay, so you really do want to argue. What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that Jess is your rock and when he's all shaken up like he was back then, you don't feel safe."

"You know me too fucking well." He sighed. "I just... owe him a lot. And I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for him."

"I know. Just let him do his thing, he has to figure it out. With Rory."

Matt grimaced. "I'll try."

"That's all I'm asking for. Come here."

* * *

In the meantime Jess walked to his room and reluctantly picked up the phone.

"Happy Birthday!" He swallowed as he heard her voice. It was strange that after last night's revelations, talking to her felt so different than before. Nothing really happened, he just called what he was feeling by its name. And suddenly he felt self-conscious and uncomfortable, worried that he would somehow let it slip. He couldn't do that. Not when they doing so well as friends.

"Thanks," he answered shortly. It was the safest thing to do.

"Can you talk right now or should I call back later?"

"Now is fine, they're starting to watch _Gone With The Wind_ which I'll be happy to miss." He leaned back on the headboard of his bed.

"So."

"So."

"How is it, Jess? Being twenty-four?"

"Revolutionary," he said sarcastically. "You'll see for yourself in a couple of months, I don't want to spoil it for you."

"Well, thank you, that's very kind of you." She sighed. "We're getting old, aren't we?"

"I guess you could say that."

"I still feel like a kid most of the time."

"That's because you are one," he chuckled.

Rory ignored his comment. "Do you realise we've known each other for almost seven years now?"

"No, seriously?" That was a such lie. He was acutely aware that it has been a really long time. He thought about it a lot last night.

"Do the math."

"I was just over seventeen when I first got to that medical experiment of a town, that would indeed make it almost seven. But I'm a mere high school drop-out, I could be having trouble with counting to ten."

"You are so over-dramatic... A high school drop-out with his GED and a body of written work larger than many graduate students'.

"Just because the stuff I write is completely random."

"That doesn't matter, it makes sense," she said and it was true. To her it did make sense. He did.

"I'm glad." This simple statement was followed by a silence which Jess was terrified of. It was unnatural. He usually liked silence. And Rory the Friend made him scared of it. He just had to break it, say something. Anything. "Chris wanted me to tell you that he misses you."

"Aww. Tell him that I miss him too. I mentioned him to my mom and she really wants to meet him, we should find a way to get him to Stars Hollow."

"Right. We did have that idea of having him move in with Miss Patty, you know."

"Very true."

"While we're at Stars Hollow. I talked to Luke today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. He said that they got the wedding rings."

"I know, mom called to tell me about it yesterday."

"He also mentioned something about our suits being replaced by tuxes," he said accusingly.

Rory was quiet for a split second and he could practically see her biting her lower lip.

"It's once in a lifetime opportunity for us to see you in dressed up like that."

"So you just want that to be able to mock us forever."

"Exactly. Besides, I seem to recall a certain person saying that tuxes are very James Bond so it's okay to wear them."

Jess grunted. "Oh yes, go ahead Gilmore, use my past against me."

"Well, if I have your permission," she teased.

"You're impossible. Okay, book recommendation..."

* * *

"Jess, it's been an hour, you're missing out on your own birthday celebrations," Chris whispered, opening the door to his room.

Jess covered the phone with his hand and mouthed, "I'll be there in a minute."

"Ror, I've got to go, they're calling me." It just slipped out. For all those months they have been in touch he avoided calling her that because it felt too intimate. Now that he did and he realised, he just mouthed 'fuck' to himself.

"Okay, sure, say hi to everyone from me," she just answered. "Oh, Jess, wait!"

"What?"

"I wasn't sure whether to tell you or not but I guess I should. I got you a birthday present, you'll get it when I'll see you in Stars Hollow before the wedding."

"Oh. I guess you're not gonna tell me what it is, are you?"

"Not a chance."

He smirked. "Okay then. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Bye Jess."

"Bye Rory."

They disconnected and he went back to the living room.

Rory, sitting on her hotel bed, opened the signed copy of Hemingway's _Three Stories and Ten Poems_ she found at a book fair in Denver that day. She reached for a brand new Moleskine notebook and a pen and started writing.

_Dear Jess,_

_This note book is meant to accompany _ThreeStories and Ten Poems_ by Hemingway. _

_I should probably tell you the story of how I got hold of it. I was walking through Denver today during lunch break and I stumbled upon a book fair. They had some incredible stuff there, I was miserable that my suitcase space is so limited. So there I was, looking around, and there was this hobo who was looking through the books as well. At one point when he was reading something he started cursing at women and aristocracy and just threw the book on top of a shelf and walked away. It was a first edition of Virginia Woolf's 'Between the Acts' from 1941, it's falling apart but it's amazing. And it's obviously mine now._

_Anyway, there was a small pile on the side where I found your Hemingway and after I took it I realised it was a pile of books that the hobo was intending to get._

_I stole from a hobo, Jess. That's an entirely new level of low for me. More even, I stole something that I myself don't like (to put it lightly). And now I'm torn between feeling extremely guilty and happy that I got you a signed copy of Hemingway. _

_I couldn't bring myself to write in there, but I do want to show to you that my dislike for this man's writing is actually very well-founded. I hope you will appreciate it (more than the hobo would?) and we will argue about it at a later time. _

_I just realised that I still don't know your stance on poetry. "Jeez, just say it already, we're dying here." That is so about your beloved Ernest! Anyway, I'm babbling now, so I'll proceed to discussing the matter. _

_Happy Birthday again,_

_Rory_

Her hand unwillingly left a lot of space before her name under the note. She was about to tear the page out and write everything out again but then she saw that the space said what she was afraid of writing. It wasn't anything clear or definite but it was enough to enable him to read between the lines if he wanted to.


	9. The Déjà Vu

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: These chapters are getting longer and longer. I hope you don't mind too much. Also, I'm really nervous about this one. You'll see why as you read.**

* * *

Rory looked at two tickets on the table in her hotel room and sighed for the hundredth time. She was completely torn. She wanted to call him and ask him but she was afraid that he would misread it as some sort of a move on her part. That he would think that she felt something.

Except that she did. Crap. She didn't have any intention of doing anything about it but there was... something... there... somewhere.

She picked up the phone and dialled his number. Then she put it down on the table and sat on the bed, staring at it.

He shouldn't think anything. Friends could go out together. That's what friends did.

And they were friends. In fact, they somehow fell into the friends mode easily, without ever having the 'let's be friends' conversation. But they were undoubtedly friends.

The word rang in her head as she got up again and dialled his number with determination in her eyes and lower lip between her teeth.

"Hey friend!" she welcomed him cordially as he picked up his phone after three signals.

"Hey. We haven't talked in a while."

"I know, it's been crazy around here," she dismissed his statement, not revealing how hard it was getting to resist the urge of calling him every day. "But guess what!"

"What?"

"I'm finally back on the East Coast. New York City to be precise."

"Nice."

"And I have an offer for you. It's impossible to turn down."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. Do you think you could drive up here for tomorrow night?"

"Not if you'll continue being so vague." He needed her to elaborate because on what she said so far, his mind was racing in directions he didn't like. Well, he did, but he knew it was just the way to drive himself crazy.

"I've got two tickets for Dinosaur Jr and everyone I asked so far hasn't got a clue who they are."

"You're kidding me."

"Not at all. Lane and Zach bought the tickets but the twins got chickenpox and Zach is apparently having sympathy itching so they can't step out of the house. So?"

"I am so there."

"Wow. That's weird."

"What is?"

"You actually seem excited."

"Me? Never."

"That's what I thought," Rory smiled into the phone. "I should be finished with work by 6 pm but I'm still not sure where exactly I'm gonna be."

"Just call me around 5 o'clock and tell me where you want to meet."

"Great. See you tomorrow then."

"Bye Rory."

As they hang up, Jess turned his stereo back on. Then it hit him that he wore his Dinosaur Jr t-shirt on the day she first visited Truncheon Books and he lost it later that night. Kind of purposefully, because some people have remarked that the girl on the shirt looked like her. He was just hoping that she wouldn't ask.

* * *

In the afternoon of the following day, Jess and Chris were sitting at their desks at the office, both working on their editorials while two girls walked in. A short, inconspicuous one with light brown, straight hair, dressed in a striped sweater, jeans and Chuck Taylors was followed by a gorgeous, leggy brunette in a brown dress that perfectly matched her eyes and hair.

"Hi. We're looking for Matt," the shorter one said.

Chris's head shot up and he stared at the other girl instantly. He managed to mumble out an answer. "He's out right now, he should be back in half an hour."

"Oh," Jess chimed in, trying to appear friendly to the guests and glare at Chris at the same time. "You're his sisters, right?"

"Yep. Jess, right?"

"Yeah. We've met. This is Chris," he gestured towards his friend.

"Melanie," the short one introduced herself with a small wave.

"Gabby," said the other one.

"Surprise visit?"

"Kind of. I got into the University of Pennsylvania, grad school, and I wanted to tell Matt in person," Melanie explained. "I'm moving into town."

"Cool. You want something to drink? Tea? Coffee?" Jess offered.

"I'm good, thanks," Gabby answered.

"I wouldn't mind a cup of tea, actually. Do you have green?"

"Yeah, give me a minute," Jess said and went up to the apartment, to the kitchen. A couple of seconds later, Chris joined him there.

"Bloody hell!" Jess had no doubt as to what the comment was regarding. He smirked at Chris's childish behaviour. "She. Is. Fit."

"Okay, Reed, don't forget to breathe."

"That's it, she's the third Truncheon Girl!"

"What?"

"There are three Truncheon Men, so there should to be three Truncheon Girls. Matt has Harriet, you have Rory, she'll be the third one."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down here. Firstly, I do not have Rory. Secondly, I'm pretty sure that Gabby is married."

"No!" Chris yelped.

Jess chuckled. "Sorry, man. But if that's any consolation, you'll have the two of them for yourself until Matt and Harriet come back because I've got to leave in like, fifteen minutes. Just don't do anything that would make Matt want to kill you."

"Where are you off to?"

"New York City."

"Why?"

"Dinosaur Jr gig."

"Okay, what the hell is going on here? The hottest girl in the world is downstairs, she's apparently Matthew's sister plus she's married and you're going to see Dinosaur Jr live without me. Nothing is right in the world today."

"Shut up and take Mel's tea downstairs," Jess handed him a mug. "I've got to get ready."

"Hey, wait. Who are you going with then?"

"That's nothing to you."

Chris looked at him carefully. "Oh yeah, keep telling me that you don't have Rory."

"Shut up, Reed!" Jess shouted, disappearing in his room.

* * *

"Oh no, it's packed already and I wanted to be in the front," Rory said as they entered the venue.

"We'll push our way up there later if you want."

"I do. Save us a spot here for now and I'll get something to drink," she offered. "Beer?"

"Sure."

She disappeared in the crowd that was trying to get to the bar. He felt kind of bad for having her go and getting squished while he stood comfortably, leaning against a wall.

Not for long.

"Hi there," a bleached blonde with too much make up on approached him. She had a bottle in her hand but it was obvious it wasn't her first one. Jess winced. It was never fun to be the sober one in the company of drunk people. He didn't answer her, his eyes followed a roadie finishing setting things up on the stage. "You know, it's not polite to ignore people who say hi to you. I'm Jessica," the girl continued.

Jess smirked and shook his head. The crowd shifted rapidly, announcing the band's arrival on stage and Jessica got pushed into Jess's side.

"Ooh, nice bicep you've got there." She touched his arm. "You still haven't told me what your name is!"

"You've got shirtless Murph onstage, I'd advise you to look that way."

"He's old and bold." They had to shout now because the band was starting to play. Jess looked around for Rory, a rather helpless expression on his face. He was never good at warding girls off. When he went out with the guys, one of them usually did it for him. Before that... he just didn't ward them off. Sometimes the books in his hands did the job though.

"Sorry."

"Don't be."

Rory made her way through the dense crowd. She had a major feeling of a déjà vu when she saw a girl clinging tightly to Jess. She was remotely reminiscent of Shane. Something snapped in Rory, she didn't even think much, she just followed her urge to get Jess away from that... that...

"Oi, bitch, get off him!" Not only Rory said it but she also circled his waist with her arm.

Jess's eyes almost left their orbits. He was aware of the fact that Rory lost a lot of her innocent sweetness as she grew up but he would never imagine her actually saying something like this out loud. Touching him like that, though they weren't together.

And holy crap, of course he liked it.

Jessica gave Rory a dirty look and disappeared into the crowd.

Rory instantly pulled away and extended her hand with his drink to him. She tried to keep her expression indifferent but she blushed anyway.

"Well, if it isn't the Possessive Rory Gilmore. I think I last saw her at the Dance Marathon of 2002." The music was loud so he had to shout it straight into her ear. She felt his breath and shifted uncomfortably.

"I saved you here, a thank you would be in order."

"I saved you from Ethan before."

"Then we're even."

"Okay."

"Good. Can we try and go to the front? I can't see anything from here!"

* * *

They did make it to the front. Far right, but it was front nonetheless.

"Yay, I love this song!" Rory squeaked happily.

Clearly everyone did, as the crowd waved dangerously and both of them got violently pushed around. Even though they stood in the third row, Rory bumped into the barrier. Hard. And she felt a sharp pain in her arm.

"Jess!" She looked around for him because they got separated. He saw her and just raised his eyebrows questioningly. There was no use shouting. "I've got to get out!" she yelled and some people lifted her above the barrier where she got picked up by security guys. It took him some time to get out of there but he finally found her in a hallway leading out of the building.

"You're okay?" he asked with concern.

Rory hissed. "I may have broken my arm," she said, touching it carefully.

"Shit," he murmured. "Try and bend it."

"I-" she tried and exhaled heavily, muffling a cry of pain, "can't."

* * *

She sat in a hospital chair, waiting for the cast on her arm to dry and a doctor to come out. Jess stood next to her, looking absentmindedly at a wall. Unfortunately he inherited the Danes hatred of hospitals. He looked down at her and something hit him.

"Wow," he said and she glanced up at him too. "Déjà vu."

"I know. It's funny how it always happens with you around."

"How is that funny?"

"You know what I mean..."

"So what now? Do you have to work tomorrow?"

"Oh shoot, I haven't thought about it. No, tomorrow I have a day off, I have to be in Boston on Monday."

"Miss Gilmore?" a doctor approached them, interrupting the conversation.

"Yes, that's me."

"I'm Dr Forley. I was the one who gave the permission to put a cast on, I just wanted to tell you in person now that the arm is broken in two places but it isn't looking bad and it should heal in no time."

Rory moaned, a mixture of tiredness and pain ruling her. "But I have no time! I have a wedding to go to in two weeks and everything's got to be perfect!"

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. The cast should be ready to be taken off in five weeks but you should get an appointment earlier to take an x-ray and see how this is coming together." He then turned to Jess. "Take her home and let her rest. She had a lot of painkillers," he said and walked off.

Jess grimaced. "So you were saying you should be in Boston on Monday?"

"Yeah. You know, I think I'll go to Stars Hollow. It's half way there and I'll call my boss in the morning, see what we can do with this."

"Right. I'll drive you."

* * *

They got her stuff from her hotel and she left Julia a note to say what happened and where she is.

"You want to call your mom?" Jess asked when they settled in his car.

"No, it's 1 am, she'd kill me. I have my own key to the house."

"Try and get some sleep then, I'll wake you up when we get there."

She leaned her head on the window and looked at the road ahead. Ten minutes, half an hour, an hour, but sleep didn't come.

"I can't sleep when you're driving," she said half jokingly.

"I'm hurt," he replied in the same manner.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, I just realised I've pretty much called you my best friend when I last came to Philly but I know next to nothing about you."

"Not true, you know me." His eyes were fixed on the road but they narrowed.

"That's not what I'm saying. I think... I get you, somehow. Though sometimes I don't understand you at all. And I don't know what made you who you are. You never told me about yourself. About... your life with Liz."

"Where is this coming from, Rory?" he glanced at her.

"Maybe it's the meds talking. Or the fact that we were in New York. But I still want to know. At least some of it."

"Okay," he said cautiously. He didn't really know why he agreed to this in the first place. It was the night and the darkness affecting him again, opening him up. Maybe it was Rory's pleading tone.

"But first of all, I just have to ask you this. Why did you never talk about it... when we were... together?" She was stumbling on her words hopelessly. It was so different than the friendly banter they have been restricting themselves to throughout all these months they have been talking.

"I didn't want you to know all that. I didn't want you to pity me... And I didn't want to show you that shit like that happens outside of literature sometimes."

"Shit like what?"

"All sorts of things."

"Hey. Don't shut yourself out now. Too late for that. And I can take it now, I promise."

"I know." He sighed. "It's still not something I particularly like talking about."

"Do you only ever talk about things you like?" she inquired.

"Yes."

"Well then, master of conversation, go on and treat me to a monologue."

"Rory..."

"Jess," she pushed.

"I don't really know where to start."

"Your first memory."

He cursed silently. "Good one."

"Jess."

"Liz puking all over the kitchen floor. I was... three, I suppose? Then she took me in her arms and told me that Tony wasn't coming home."

"Tony?"

"Her second husband. I think. I don't remember the guy. The version I heard was that he got run over by a bus. And she couldn't get over it so her drinking increased and random guys started appearing at home." He fell silent for a moment. "Actually, you know, it would be better if you asked me questions. It's not like I can tell you all of it at once anyway." He wanted her to ask him questions to keep him in some sort of boundaries. If he tried to tell her all of it, it would simply get too hard. He still couldn't make sense of it all. And he didn't really want to give her more than she wanted to know. Not yet at least.

"Okay, sure," she nodded. From the fact that he never did tell her anything about it, she knew that it was hard for him to process and to talk about. And she was willing to do anything to make it easier. "Was there... a lot of boyfriends?"

"More like fuck buddies," he hissed and she couldn't help but wince from the term he used. "There were four or five more stable boyfriends. She got married to one of them but they filed for divorce after two weeks because she wanted to have kids with him but he didn't. Fucking ironic, right?" he asked rhetorically. His fingers were nervously tapping on the wheel but otherwise he was stoic. "After him she started using. Coke mainly, though she'd take whatever she could get. She tried to get clean when she noticed that I was a mess and started disappearing from the house for days but it was too far gone."

"Where would you go?"

"Just the library. Or walk around the city. I found people I'd hang out with sometimes."

"Did they... have you... fuck, I don't know how to ask this."

"You just swore," he said with a small, tight smile in order to lighten the mood.

"Sorry," she said and he smiled again at her need to apologise. "I'm nervous. This is the most personal interview sot of thing I've ever done."

"Just treat it as a conversation between two friends then."

"Still one of the most personal. What I meant was... did those people get you into trouble?"

"Sometimes. There were fights and stuff. Home was worse. But... do me a favour and don't ask about it right now. I can't... while I'm driving."

"Sure." She bit her lip and hesitated. "Girls?" she asked in turn. She had to know. When they were together, she was aware of the fact that he had experience, but the only one she ever knew about was Shane and it was painful enough to deal with for her back then. Judging from his ease around Shane though, there had to be more. And now was her time to find out.

"You want to ask if I hang out with girls or I slept with them?"

"Slept," she answered shortly.

"You could say that. But I wasn't really sleeping around at first. It just happened a couple of times. On a pretty much friends with benefits basis."

"How old were you?"

"You ask very inaccurate questions for a journalist."

"I mean... your first time."

He took a deep breath. "Thirteen." She could hear his voice breaking.

"Jess," she said softly.

"Rory, no pity, remember?" He pulled in the car in front of the Gilmore house and stared at it for several long seconds. He couldn't face her. "It's fucking embarrassing! It's as if I was some sort of a perv of a child."

"Except you weren't really a child at that point."

"Still."

"Hey, don't do this to yourself. I can attest that you were quite a gentleman when we were going out. Excluding Kyle's party maybe, but you were."

He chuckled bitterly. "You don't know what was happening in my mind though." He was still looking away. This was too awkward. In the months of talking, this was the first time they directly alluded to some of the hurt they caused each other.

"And you didn't know what was happening in mine," she countered, not realising how weighty his statement was. No, she never really knew what was happening in his head. But that wasn't the point now. "After that dinner at my grandma's I... told my mom I was thinking about that too."

"Huh."

They were silent for a couple of seconds and Rory began to feel growing uneasiness. She had to do something.

"Come on, let's go in," she said, opening the car door.

"Right. You're sure it's okay if I stay for a couple of hours?"

"Of course it is, Jess. You're family, you shouldn't even ask that."

The word 'family' did its job. It dissipated the sexual tension.

They were on safe grounds again.

* * *

"Jess," she whispered, standing in front of an open closet in her room. "I can't get it with one hand. Take that duvet and a pillow from the top shelf. I'm sorry that the couch is so short."

"It's okay, it's only for a couple of hours anyway," he said and pulled at the duvet. Right behind it, two boxes came crushing down on the floor, making a noise that was fortunately toned down by the carpet. "Crap, sorry."

She was more sorry. And embarrassed.

Because at their feet was a rocket and a pink Birkin Bag, next to a copy of _Howl_, a red polka dot dress and a whole bunch of other stuff.

"Leave it, I'll clean it up myself," Rory said, avoiding his eyes.

"Okay. Goodnight Rory." He turned to the door of her room with the duvet and pillow.

"Night."

* * *

She changed into some old pyjamas that she found in her closet and sat on the floor next to her boyfriend boxes, separating the Jess Stuff from the Logan Stuff. It felt surreal, especially considering the fact that Jess was just next door.

For the first time, possibly ever, she noticed how the stuff reflected her life in the Jess Time and the Logan Time. How contrasting the things were. The dress and the bag. There were no books in the Logan Box. And the rocket, the big, shiny rocket that she once regarded as the greatest love proclaiming gift ever, suddenly seemed small next to the old copy of _Howl_.

She felt bad for playing down the significance of her relationship with Logan.

But she was also wondering whether the things from the Logan Box reflected her growing up or stepping on some path that wasn't really hers.

She was still processing all that Jess told her in the car. She was emotionally drained, and she knew he was too. She wanted to give him a hug so badly, but she knew he would resent it, seeing it as pity.

But she still felt like she owed him some explanation. She had to tell him something in return for his honesty. Painful honesty. His signature trait.

"Jess? You're asleep?" she asked quietly as she stepped into the living room, her healthy arm across her chest.

"Nope," came an answer from the darkness. She crossed the room, her eyes getting used to it and he sat up to make space for her on the couch. She sat on the other end of it, Indian style, and rested the broken arm on her knee.

"So... those were my boyfriend boxes."

"I figured. Just, please tell me that the pink thing has no association with me," he said, making her chuckle.

"No, that was from Logan."

"Of course," he answered, and she could practically hear his sarcastic smirk in his voice.

"I... never explained to you what happened with him."

"You don't have to."

"I know. But I want to. I feel like I owe you this considering you told me things and... it affected our encounter at the open house." Jess didn't say a word. She leaned against the back of the couch, taking her time before she started talking.

"I'll make it as brief as possible... So I guess all the real crap started when his dad told me I didn't have it in me to become a journalist. I lost it. First I stole a boat. Then I dropped out of Yale because I thought there was no point in going to school. Definitely in the top three of my worst decisions ever," she said and she remembered yelling 'no, no, no, no, no.' She took a couple of deep breaths until she was able to talk again. "That led to me having a huge fight with my mom and after that I moved into my grandparents' pool house. I was doing my community service in the mornings and attending fancy tea parties in the afternoons because I joined the DAR... Then you came and showed me _The Subsect_. And it hit me that what I was doing was such a waste of time. Pretty much nothing. So right after you left that bar I had a huge fight with Logan. He thought I was blaming him for all of that though I wasn't. Well, partly I was but not really." She paused again. "Then there was a fight with grandma because she was butting in too much, which my mom warned be about obviously, but I didn't listen. And I moved in with Paris. I started fixing things, went back to my mom and enrolled for the next semester at Yale. You have no idea how good it felt. It was just like my grandpa told me once, anything I would want to learn, I could learn in that place. And I finally had something to do. I even got the position of the editor on the Yale Daily News. Anyway, Logan and I didn't talk for a couple of days and he assumed that we were broken up. And the jerk that he was," Rory's jaw clenched as she was reliving the events, "he slept with his sister's entire bridal party. I found out about it at Honor's wedding. Note the irony in the name there. Then we talked and I told him that I never realised that we were broken up. He tried to make up for that, told me he loved me and I moved in with him into his fancy apartment. Things weren't exactly peachy but we were trying to move on. But I... I couldn't and then I got your invitation and you know what happened then. I know I've said it already but I'm sorry, Jess, I really am, and-"

"Ror, just carry on with the story," he interrupted her.

She exhaled heavily. "He got into a stupid parachute accident and barely made it. I don't know, I think those were my freaking maternal instincts that I didn't know I had before that pushed me into taking care of him. Things got better but then he had to leave for London, for work. So we did the entire long distance thing. It was good every time he came back, it actually made me think it was worth it."

"That I didn't need to know."

She swallowed, feeling guilty and stupid about saying that. "Right. Sorry." She paused. "But I said that because I'm talking to you as to my friend, not an ex."

"Alright."

"Long story short, he came back and my grandparents threw me a party to celebrate my graduation and he proposed. In public, in front of all those people that I barely knew." She rubbed her forehead, as if trying to push a headache away. "I could never imagine that something that was meant to be a sign of love could be so humiliating."

"Why did you say no?"

"I couldn't even explain it at the time. I just saw a big, fat, red light. I think... I didn't tell him 'no, never', I told him that I wasn't ready yet. And I wasn't. I wanted to be Rory Gilmore in my own right, discover the world outside of mom's house and outside of Yale and get to know myself as Rory Gilmore before becoming Mrs Huntzberger." They both winced at the sound of it. "And he... he didn't let me, Jess."

* * *

Lorelai Gilmore got woken up by the sun. She opened her eyes but her head still rested on Luke's chest as she listened to the sounds of the small town early morning.

"Luke," she tapped his chest. "Luke, do you hear something? I think I hear voices."

"That's because you're crazy."

"Don't say that or I'll do Runaway Bride next week just to annoy you!"

"Lorelai, I didn't take a Sunday morning off to have you waking me up at," he turned around to look at the clock on the nightstand, "5.45. Sleep."

But she got up, wrapped herself in her robe and Luke had no choice but to follow her in case someone really was there.

Lorelai stopped suddenly half way down the stairs and gasped, her hands on her heart in her typical overdramatic fashion.

"Luke, you love me, right?" At the question, Rory and Jess looked up at her, thrown out of the rhythm of their conversation.

"Of course I do, where is that coming from?" Luke answered, only exiting their bedroom.

"Will you still marry me if I tell you I'm seeing things?" Two minutes ago she was hearing things, now she was seeing them. Great. She pinched her own arm. She wasn't seeing things. "Luke, the kids are here!"

Rory grinned up at her mother who ran over and fell onto the couch between her daughter and Jess, ruining the nest that the duvet created around them.

"Hi mom," Rory wrapped her arm around her mother.

"Oh my God! What is this?" Lorelai asked with terror in her eyes, pointing at Rory's cast and turning around to get a look at Jess.

"That's a cast on my broken arm Mom, but don't look at Jess, he has nothing to do with this. Hey, Luke!"

"Hi Rory, Jess," the man gave each of them an awkward hug. "What is this?"

Rory and Jess rolled their eyes at the fact that Lorelai and Luke were now wording their questions in the same way.

"A broken arm," Rory finally answered. "We went to a concert last night and I got pushed into the barrier. Mom," she clicked her fingers in front of Lorelai's face to stop her from examining Jess. "He didn't do anything. He made sure I was okay and brought me home."

"Well, in that case I'll refrain from going all Kill Bill on him," she shrugged. "My baby's home!" she squealed and hugged Rory tightly.

* * *

They insisted he had to have a nap before driving back to Philadelphia, so he did. On Rory's bed. Surreal was probably the best word to describe it.

The four of them had breakfast that Luke prepared. They were relatively quiet for the Gilmores but that was because they got up early. And Rory didn't sleep at all.

Jess's cell phone rang and he left the house through the kitchen door to pick it up.

"Hey, you're okay?" Chris's voice welcomed him.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Um, maybe because you went out with Rory and you didn't come home. Philly is not that far from New York, you should have made it here by now. Unless, of course, you two decided to check in into some filthy motel-"

Jess interrupted him. "Rory broke her arm, I drove her to Stars Hollow so that's where we are now. My uncle and Lorelai are present, so don't worry, we're well chaperoned," he said sarcastically.

"Good. Is Rory okay?"

"Cast for five weeks. Matt's sisters?"

"Gabby's gone, Mel is staying for now. In his old room."

"Just what you wanted, right?"

"You kidding? That woman is crazy and mean and I don't think she even noticed me yet."

Jess chuckled. "Rise above it, Reed. I'll be leaving here in about an hour. I can pick up reinforcements in the form of pizza on the way and we'll all bond tonight."

"Away with the sarcasm, just get over here."

"She's already getting you frustrated, nice one."

"Shut up, Mariano," Chris said and hang up.

* * *

"Thanks for everything, Jess," Rory said as they stood in the doorway around noon. "And I'm so, so sorry for ruining the concert for you."

"Forget about it."

"I'm... glad we talked though."

"Yeah, me too. So. I'll be back here next Thursday."

"Good. Oh!"

"What?"

"Your birthday present! I'll be right back!" She went to her room and she returned a moment later with a neat package. "Happy belated birthday. Don't open it before you get home."

"Thanks Rory."

They hugged. Not like that time in the kitchen above Truncheon, this time her one arm was around his neck, his two around her waist. An embrace to let each other know that they are there for each other, just still slightly unsure what to do with all the information they shared the night before. They looked at each other a bit differently now. Like they finally understood how screwed up they were.

Little did they know how much more there was for them to find out. Yes, they discussed certain periods of their respective lives. But what they still had to address were the parts they shared.


	10. The Sorry State

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, unfortunate laptop malfunction. But here's the next chapter and it's long, so I hope it makes up for the long wait. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own. **

* * *

"Mom, everything is ready, stop worrying! I promise you that the wedding is going to be perfect."

"How is it going to be perfect, hon? You're wearing a cast, that's for one. Two, we're still having trouble with Taylor. And three, I have a feeling that the dress is gonna split in the middle at some point. I've gained weight. I never gain weight, why now? Isn't the stress supposed to make you lose weight?"

Rory chose to ignore her mother's rambling. "You tried the dress on again," she rather stated than asked, with a big smile on her face.

"I have," Lorelai grinned. "I still love it."

"Well, you should because it's still perfect. Mom, I've been thinking. I've been here for almost a week and you now I love it here but would you forgive me if I went to Harvard to visit Paris? Just for a few days. Until Tuesday."

"You're willing to spent four days with Paris," the mother looked at the daughter as if she were crazy.

"I used to live with her. I'm suffering from the Paris Withdrawal Syndrome."

"You're too nice to people?"

"Exactly."

Lorelai sighed. "Go, have fun. Leave your mother alone on her last week of freedom. But be here on Tuesday because my full on freak out is set to start on Wednesday at noon."

"I'll be here," Rory kissed her mother on the cheek. "Call me if you need anything."

* * *

It was almost noon when Jess picked up the mail. An invoice from the printing house. Something from George the poet who refused to get a computer and send emails because it wouldn't agree with his image. Something for him, that appeared to be private, not to do with Truncheon. He opened it. Huh. He picked up his phone and dialled Rory's number. And made a mental note to finally change his cell phone deal because this was costing him a fortune.

"Mariano, you're getting needy," Rory joked as she picked up. She wasn't really complaining. "Didn't we just finish talking fifteen minutes ago?"

He ignored her comment. "I'm guessing you've got coffee in your hands right now, so put it away."

"Done. What is it?"

"I got an invitation."

"I'm very happy for you," she teased. "To what, if I may ask?"

"To Nora and Josh's engagement party."

"No!" Rory exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

"Yes."

"Wow. That was fast."

"I know. But keep the coffee away because there's more."

"Don't tell me it's a baby shower at the same time," she gasped.

Jess sneered. "Sorry, but no. Your name is on the invitation though."

"What?"

"It says 'Jess Mariano plus Rory-now-I-really-regret-not-asking-what-your-last-name-is.'"

She laughed. "It doesn't say that."

"Oh, it does, believe me, my fingers are all silver and sparkly because she used a glittery ball pen."

"I feel for you. When is it?"

"Next Friday."

"Twenty-first?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be there."

He raised his eyebrow even though she couldn't see it. "Oh yeah?"

"Why not. I'm not going back to work until the Tuesday after that. What does it say about the dress code?"

"Santa's workshop."

"Interesting theme for the middle of the summer," she mused.

"I'm kidding. It says 'dressy casual', whatever that means."

He heard loud banging of a door and some yelling on Rory's side of the line.

"What was that?" he asked with a frown.

"Paris. She just came home."

"You're at Harvard?"

"Yeah. But she looks mad, she might throw me out any second now."

"If she does you can call Harriet, she went there for some reunion thing this weekend."

"Really? Give me her number then."

* * *

"Who was that?" Paris asked as she walked into the room.

"Remember Jess?"

"Kerouac? The cute idiot that left you in the senior year and deprived you of the disastrous affair known as high school prom?"

"Yes, him" Rory nodded.

"And what exactly were you doing talking to him?"

"You've got your answer in your question, Paris. We're talking. Have been for months, actually."

"Interesting."

"Yes. Interesting," Rory nodded again, awkwardness clear in her voice. "You look mad, what happened?"

"Half of the doctors at the clinic are incompetent."

"I see."

"And Doyle and I had a fight last night because I fell asleep but he could hear you giggling on the phone apparently. He woke me up to tell me that and I had to tell him that it's not okay to go to you and tell you to be quiet because you're our guest. You weren't talking to him, were you?"

"No, that was my mom," Rory lied. "I'm sorry for causing a fight between you two."

"Forget about it. We need to fight sometimes. Keeps the relationship interesting."

* * *

"Hi," Rory said as she approached Harriet who already sat at a table in a campus café.

"Hi, nice to see you again, Rory," Harriet smiled. "Though I guess I shouldn't really be talking to you since you're a Yalie."

"A faithful follower of Handsome Dan. But my good friend is here in medical school so I'm trying to overcome the barriers. Am I sticking out?"

"With those eyes of yours you couldn't be mistaken for a Harvard student. Look around, we all have red. They deprive us of sleep to make our eyes Harvard crimson," Harriet said and they both laughed.

"Well, as long as my grandparent's don't know I'm here," Rory said.

"Yale family traditions?" Rory nodded. "I know your pain. I was almost exiled from the family for dating Matt because he went to University of Pennsylvania."

"What did you study?"

"Majored in music and then in English because my step-mother didn't realise I graduated so she paid for another year. Good old times."

"Sounds like it."

"So, do you want to get some coffee?"

"A Gilmore never ever says 'no' to coffee. Or cake."

Harriet looked at her as if she just remembered something. "I was meaning to ask. Are you by any chance related to Richard and Emily Gilmore?"

Now Rory looked at the other woman with surprise. "They are my grandparents."

"Don't tell me you're Lorelai's kid!" Harriet's exclaimed.

"I am, at least that's what I've been told since I can remember. In fact I'm a Lorelai Gilmore myself but I go by Rory because mom named me after herself but that would be too confusing. You know her?"

Harriet shook her head in amazement.

"That is one small world we live in. Of course I know Lorelai. Our families used to go to Martha's Vineyard together every year when we were kids."

"Wow."

"Wow, I know! I always looked up to her. She was six years older than me, I think, she wore Chuck Taylors with her summer dresses which was obviously astonishing and she used to sneak me out for ice cream when I was supposed to be in bed."

"That sounds like mom," Rory laughed.

"How is she now?"

"She's great. She's getting married in a week. To Luke, Jess's uncle, by the way."

"Oh yeah, I knew you were going to be cousins through marriage. This small world thing is kind of freaky though."

"Amazing, right?"

"Yeah."

"You know what?" Rory asked. "You should totally come to the wedding. With Matt."

Harriet chuckled devilishly. "Jess would love that."

"I'm serious. That would be a great surprise for mom. And you can help me convince Jess to dance."

"Tempting. And that wouldn't be any trouble?"

"Not at all, the whole town is going to be there anyway."

"Okay then. Besides, any excuse is good to buy new shoes," Harriet smiled.

Rory rummaged through her purse. "I should have some spare invitations in here. There you go," she found one and passed it to Harriet.

"Thanks. That will leave Chris alone with Mel, maybe they will start getting along."

"Matt's sister?"

"I see you're well updated," Harriet remarked with a smirk. "Yeah, one of the four. Sisters that is, then there is Matt and another brother."

"Wow."

"I know. Their parents are all proper and apparently they didn't know that the government's ban on birth control was lifted in 1965."

"Just slightly behind."

"I know. But they're great."

"How did you and Matt meet?"

"Jess didn't tell you the story?" Harriet asked and Rory answered by shaking her head. "Ask him for details," Harriet explained. "All I can tell you that me and Matt met through Jess... it was shortly after the time you first came to Truncheon and you two kissed. Sorry, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that, but yes, I know," she continued awkwardly. "Basically I met Jess at a bar, smacked him upside the head for letting himself be such a mess and went home with him." She suddenly jumped up, aware of how it sounded. "No, no, no, not like you think. I just went with him because he was completely wasted and you know, there's something about Jess that makes you want to take care of him."

"I know," Rory agreed with a sad smile, tears gathering in her eyes at the thought of that shameful day.

"And Matt was there, worried sick about Jess and it was the cutest thing I ever saw and we started talking and it all just somehow went from there."

"Thank you," Rory said, sniffling at this point, her mind still at Harriet's previous statement.

"No, Rory, it's not your-"

"It is, it is entirely my fault. I was so selfish. And stupid. And God, I'm freaking out now. But thank you for taking care of him."

Harriet looked at Rory emphatically and thought about how strange those two were. She never knew a couple of people who so obviously loved each other and were still desperately running away from being together.

"It's okay, Rory. Frankly, I have a reason to be glad that it all happened, otherwise I would have never gotten to Truncheon. There's something special about those three and I love them all to bits," she shrugged lightly. "How long are you planning to stay at Harvard?"

"I thought until Tuesday but Paris is already fed up with me."

"Wanna come to Philly with me? Just for a couple of days?"

* * *

"Boys! I'm back! With a surprise!" Harriet shouted as they climbed the stairs.

"Hey," Matt welcomed his girlfriend with a kiss. "Hi Rory."

"Hi," she smiled. She wasn't sure if she was getting the right feeling but out of the three of Jess's friends, Matt was definitely the least fond of her and somehow she wanted him to accept her.

"Harry, you're back!" Chris's voice came from a distance. "Finally! I haven't been hugged in days! Oh, Rory, hi! Score, double portion of hugs for me. Mel doesn't do hugs," he pouted. "And I'm not desperate enough to ask the guys."

"Reed, I'd be really worried if I found you hugging Matt. Come here you nut, I missed you," Harriet embraced Chris, then moved and he extended his arms to Rory, then examined her cast. She thought that she never hugged a boy in such a pure, friendly manner. Jess, maybe, but he was Jess, even if it was only friendly, it was different.

"Where's Jessica?" Harriet inquired.

"He's making coffee. Jess!" Matt shouted. "Come down here!"

He did. With coffee. Rory melted and took a mug from him even though it wasn't intended for her and kissed him on the cheek saying hi.

He could definitely do without his coffee.

* * *

In contrast to the three young brooding men who owned and occupied it, Truncheon was a very light place. There were large windows and high ceilings everywhere, it just made sense that the previous owner was a painter. But he went bankrupt and the boys were in luck, coming into possession of a very cheap, very well lit building. The only place that lacked that quality was the staircase leading from the office to the apartment. They stopped changing the light bulb after Matthew tried to replace it once and ended up falling from the ladder, twisting his ankle.

In that very place, fate or coincidence or whatever it was, pushed the descending Rory and the ascending Jess into each other, as the end of the business hours approached.

They both took a step back, Rory up a step, Jess down a step but neither of them broke the silence with the compulsory 'oops' or 'sorry'. Instead they stood still, examining each other's silhouettes in the dim light; their rational thought somewhere far away, because neither of them, if asked, would have been able to answer what or why they were doing.

It took a sound of breaking glass coming from upstairs to bring them back into the real world.

Rory shifted from one leg to another, as she pointed to the apartment door and spoke up, the shaking of her voice giving away the fact that she had been somewhere else entirely a few seconds earlier.

"Matt and Mel are arguing, I left them to it," she said.

"Sensible move," Jess answered, looking up at the door. "I'm kind of hiding," he added.

"From whom?"

"Remember, I told you about those two high-school girls who wanted an interview for some school magazine?"

"Aww, your fangirls," Rory smiled teasingly.

"Is that the word? 'Cause I've been referring to them as freaks."

"Now, Mr Mariano, I realize you are a published writer with stalkers now and you have the right to be all elevated, but it's still not a nice way to talk about people who adore your writing."

"Please," he scoffed.

"Please, what?"

"Asking about women in my life clearly indicates an interest in my writing."

Rory laughed. "What did you tell them?"

"Nothing."

"See, that's a completely wrong approach, they will keep coming back until they find out. And when they find out they will still keep coming back, hoping they you will choose one of them to fill this void in your love life."

"I guess I'll just have to spend the rest of my life hiding on this staircase," he said, leaning lazily on the wall behind him while Rory sat down on a step, so were finally on the same eye level.

"I suppose I can keep you company for a while before you become a hermit then."

"That's very nice of you."

"I know," she said lightly and they fell quiet for a moment, staring at their shoes, until Rory spoke up again. "Did I tell you yet that I love it here?"

"On the dark staircase?" He just couldn't help himself.

"No, you idiot, here at Truncheon!" But the dark staircase wasn't half bad either.

"Well, your eloquence prevented you from using these exact words before but I kind of got it," he replied with a smirk that she rather sensed in his voice than saw in the darkness.

"You've done so well for yourself, Jess. I'm really proud of you."

The comment made him feel uneasy so he tried to joke.

"Yeah, I should probably invite all of Stars Hollow, maybe their level of hatred towards me would go down a notch."

"As if it was so easy. Taylor would carry out an inspection to check for stolen things around here," Rory deadpanned.

"You're right," he sighed and ran his hand through his hair, sitting down one step lower than her. "I really was a pain to be around, wasn't I?" he asked and noticed that she tensed up.

"You're asking the wrong person," she said quietly. "It was… no, never mind."

"Say it," he pushed, looking at her intently, and she thought that this was more like the old Jess, pressing to get a sore subject out.

She breathed in and out before saying it. "Not having you around was harder. Back then," she added quickly.

"Oh… Ror?" he said, looking away.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

She dug her nails into the flesh of her palm, trying to stop the tears that gathered in her eyes at the sound of the words she waited years to hear. She forgave him, a long time ago, but hearing it made her feel calm. Except that she had to fight the growing urge to touch him. She only said, "I know."

In that moment, the magnetic force proved to be stronger than that of her will and her healthy arm moved a few inches until her fingers buried in his hair.

They froze instantly, like before, their minds lost somewhere, until she heard his tortured murmur.

"Rory…"

The rational thought caught up with them once again and she quickly withdrew her hand.

"Sorry," she said, getting up and fidgeting. He didn't respond but only looked at the wall next to him, as if the paint that was coming off was hugely fascinating. "It… seems like they stopped fighting," Rory motioned towards the apartment door.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, let's go up."

"Okay."

"Good."

And he followed her up the stairs.

If they were good at dancing around each other at the age of seventeen, now they were clearly entering the pro level. Only the bumps and bruises they got on the way stole the bravery and recklessness they had back then, and the dance was becoming more awkward than ever.

* * *

"Hello mother!" she said into the phone.

"Oh, er, Rory, hi, it's Luke."

"Oh. Hi Luke. Sorry, I didn't know you'd pick up."

"Yeah. You know, Lorelai uses me for that," Luke said uncomfortably.

"I should have figured. How are you, Luke?"

"Good. I'm good. How are you, Rory?"

"I'm good too. Actually, I'm visiting Jess in Philly right now."

"Oh. Good. Say hi from me. Your mom is here taking the phone from, so-"

"Hey sweets!"

"Hey mom!"

"How is Paris?"

"I bet less rainy than London."

"What about Paris the Neurotic-who-Michel-runs-away-from-every-time?"

"She's dealing with the incompetent doctors."

"Of course," Lorelai deadpanned.

"So what did I miss? Did you sort out the permit to play music after 11 pm?"

"Luke is dealing with it now. I gave it a try and Taylor threatened to take the lanterns down. He said that they are too bright. Too bright, imagine that? So guess what I told him?" Lorelai chuckled.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that he must be experiencing a clinical death after I stabbed him in the kidney with a stiletto, you know, Gladiator style, for being so annoying, but that bright light he's seeing cannot possibly be my lanterns."

"Poor old Taylor," Rory pouted.

"Offspring, I feel betrayed!"

"Couldn't you at least pull an Edward and use scissors? I think they might be easier to acquire than a stiletto."

"No, see, I always wanted a stiletto for this purpose. Maybe I can find something appropriate at Mrs Kim's."

"You realise if these calls were monitored we would be sitting in jail right now, mom?"

"I wonder if Luke would still visit me," Lorelai said and suddenly turned serious. "So kid, there's something you should know before you come back to town."

"What is it?"

"We got news from Woodbury today. Did you know that Dean lives there?"

"No, I didn't. I haven't heard from him at all since... you know," she trailed off.

"Okay. I hate to tell you this but you're going to find out sooner or later so I better do this now." She took a deep breath and Rory found herself doing the same. "He got married again, Rory."

"Oh."

"You're okay?"

"I... I will be."

"Can I tell you the weirder part?"

"Go on."

"He got married...wait for it... to a Linzi."

"He divorced her and married her again?" Rory asked with confusion.

"No, no, no. They weren't cool enough to repeat the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton thing. Not Lindsey. It's a different girl, she's from Woodbury and she's called Linzi. L-i-n-z-i."

"Wow. That is weird."

"Creepy, I'd say."

"Oh shoot. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Mom, I still haven't told Jess about the thing with Dean."

"Why, do you feel like you should have?"

"Yes, I feel like I should have. We have been talking about the past a lot lately but this somehow hasn't come up yet. Did I mention that I'm in Philly?"

"What? How did you get to Philly?"

"Jess's friend was in Harvard for a reunion and I met her there for a coffee and came back with her because I was making Paris and Doyle fight."

"Rory, promise me something. Promise me you won't do anything stupid because you just found out about Dean and Jess is there, right next to you."

"I promise."

"Okay. Take care, hon. Look out for Will Smith while you're there and if you see him tell him that your grandmother loves him."

"Will do. Bye mom."

She turned her phone on silent and started walking down the street. She had to avoid doing anything stupid. Getting away from Jess should be a good idea until she was done processing the news and kicking herself for her affair with Dean once again.

At one point in her twenty three years long life, she had been the other women. She had ruined a marriage. She had lost her virginity to a married man. Whom she didn't even love. And wasn't in a relationship with when they did it.

She had lost her virginity to a married man who was her ex-boyfriend because she needed a rebound after her other ex-boyfriend came to her and asked her to leave school and run away with him.

Her head was spinning.

It was getting dark but she barely noticed that. She just walked on. Then she went into a random bar and ordered a random drink. And another one. She decided that it might be a good idea to do shots. They sure took her mind off Dean as the ceiling started reeling. She realised it was late so she got up to go back. A night bus didn't come so she walked again. She got lost. Then found her way by sheer accident. She got her cell phone out of her pocket when she stood in front of the door to Truncheon. Ooops. 12 missed calls from Jess. Or maybe that was 17. 6 from Chris. 2 from Harriet. She started a new message.

'_Jess, are uyo awakd? Can youu let mein? R'_

Less than twenty seconds later he appeared in the door, looking furious. She didn't like furious Jess.

"What the hell was that Rory?" he shouted in a whisper. She passed him in the door without a word. "You've been drinking. That's just very fucking peachy."

"Jess, stop, I'm old enough to drink. And I'm old enough to take a walk on my own."

"Rory, do you know what time it is? Well, let me tell you, it's twenty past three. And this is Philadelphia, not Stars Hollow. You can't do this!"

"Of course I can."

"No, you can't. You can't come to my house and then disappear without saying a word to anybody, not pick up your phone and then come back in the middle of the night! Drunk!"

"Jess, I need the bathroom," she rushed there and he followed her.

A yawning Chris with his hair all over the place appeared in the doorframe of his room but Jess only motioned to him that everything was under control and he should go back to sleep.

"Will you at least tell me what happened?" he spoke to Rory again.

"Leave me alone."

"I can't leave you alone, Rory. Talk." The fact that she was wasted didn't appear to him as an obstacle for talking. He had a number of great drunken conversations in his life.

"You are such a hypocrite," she slurred. "You always leave me alone. And you never talk."

"Huh, so what we've been doing on the phone and in person over the last half a year was stuffing plush rabbits."

"I don't need your sarcasm. I don't need you!" There it was again. 'No, no, no, no, no!' She could live without him. "Go away, Jess!"

"Fine. Have a great time throwing up."

He left the bathroom and disappeared behind closed doors of his bedroom.

* * *

"Harriet, can you stop fucking humming?" Jess said distractedly from his desk in the morning.

"Ouch. Someone's snappy," Chris commented.

Harriet looked at Jess with an expression that showed a mixture of surprise and worry. "Don't talk to me like that."

Jess leaned back in his chair. "Sorry. Sucky day."

"I can see that. You had a fight with Rory?"

"She came back drunk out of her head. It's a miracle she even found her way back here."

"And?"

"And nothing. She wouldn't tell me what happened."

"Jess. She was drunk, why wouldn't you wait till the morning?"

"She pissed me off."

"Did she? Or did she make you worried? Go to her. She's still sitting up there. Apologise, make up and stop being so snappy or we'll lock you up somewhere to spend the day on your own."

"No way. I'm not apologising for this. She was the one who behaved irrationally."

"Again, she was drunk," Harriet persuaded.

"Do you want me to check up on her? Or talk to her?" Chris offered.

"Don't you dare!"

* * *

Rory woke up around noon. Her head was killing her. She tried to listen if there was anyone in the apartment and when she decided it was clear she left Matt's old room to take a shower. She got herself some coffee from the kitchen and found aspirin in the middle of the counter. She smiled weakly and looked for something to eat but all she found was fruit. She took an apple with certain disgust and went to her hiding place again.

She thought she remembered what happened. But she still didn't feel responsible for fighting. Jess was getting over-protective. He didn't have the right. She was going through something and he didn't understand and he should have let her be.

She had to leave and go back to Stars Hollow. But she needed some more sleep beforehand.

* * *

"Boys, conference, now!" Harriet said to Chris and Matt, closing the door to the office behind her. "We need to get them to talk."

"What's your master plan?" Chris asked, already knowing she'd have one.

"It involves moving furniture around in the apartment upstairs."

"Interesting."

"It is. Listen..."

* * *

Rory went into the bathroom only to gather her stuff so she left the door half open. The circumstances were perfect so Harriet nodded, giving them a signal to start. Matt left the apartment.

"Jess! Come out of your cell and help us move the couch!"

He opened the door and sceptically looked at Chris and Harriet's efforts. "Where exactly do you want to move it?"

"I thought it would look good next to the window but it didn't fit so we're moving it back."

"O-kay. Though it looks like you were dragging it to the bathroom."

"Hello! Do you see who's helping me?" Harriet motioned towards Chris. "Just go there and try to push. Let me warn you though, this thing is heavy as hell."

Jess practically had to stand in the doorway of the bathroom. Then Chris pushed the couch so hard that it slipped and the next thing Jess knew, the door hit him, so he took a step back inside the bathroom. The two outside finished their job by pushing the piece of furniture further to block the door completely, trapping Jess and Rory inside. Matt's voice called to come immediately downstairs and the two on the outside ran.

Inside, Jess stood facing the door with an extremely confused expression gracing his features. Rory stood equally confused, staring at him. Then he turned around and finally noticed her.

"Oh for fuck's sake. I should have figured," he hissed.

"That was very... stealthy."

Jess didn't answer. He tried to push the door but the couch really was too heavy for one to move. He slid down to the floor and sat down against the door. Rory sat down too, against a wall where it was exposed. Her head was touching the washbasin and her knees drawn to her chest. They sat awkwardly, avoiding each other's eyes.

"I talked to Luke today. He says hi," Rory tried to make contact.

"Great. Anything else?" he asked in an angered tone, not wanting to hear anything.

"Dean got married," she answered quietly anyway, not really for him to hear.

But he did and he chuckled bitterly. "That must be really hard on you," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, it is, actually. I don't usually get drunk out of my head for no reason."

"Why, Rory?"

"Why I don't get drunk or why it's hard?" He just gave her a meaningful look. "Because I helped to ruin his previous marriage." She stood up and started pacing around the small space. Jess pulled himself up to a vertical position as well and leaned against the door.

"What?"

"What you heard. First year of Yale. After you came to my dorm room and asked me to run away with you. I had an affair with Dean. I slept with him."

Jess laughed bitterly again. "And here I was, thinking that what I did was bad."

"After that?"

"No, after that I actually stopped deluding myself and started getting my life together. The time you came to Truncheon."

"What did you do, Jess?" She knew from what Harriet mentioned that he was a mess but she didn't say anything specific. And Rory was curious, however painful it was to get to know the truth.

"I spent two weeks being drunk out of my head and sleeping around," Jess admitted.

Oh yes, it hurt. "I can't believe you!" she went back to shouting.

"At least I didn't ruin any marriages!"

"How do you know, Jess, huh? Did you ever see those girls again? Worse even, how do you know there are no toddlers out there that have no one to call 'daddy'?"

"Shut the fuck up," he said through gritted teeth, shaking but trying to remain calm. "I didn't know you were so against one night stands anyway. Wasn't that what you came to the open house for?" he asked cynically.

Rory stopped her pacing right in front of him and slapped him before she could think about what she was doing.

"That's not fair, Jess! I came to see you, I wanted to see how you were doing!" she yelled.

"So using me to get back at your asshole of a boyfriend was just a perk? Two birds with one stone kind of thing?"

"Jess-" she started but he didn't let her finish.

"It hurt, Rory, it fucking hurt! But I guess that's your thing, when something goes wrong in your latest relationship, you go running to an ex, right? Well, let me just give you some advise here, if you desperately need a rebound, try to find a new guy, okay? Because those from your past happen to care about you and recycling them... us, is just cruel." He exhaled tiredly and then chuckled bitterly. "I can't believe I have so much in common with the Bag Boy."

"There's one crucial difference," Rory gathered the courage to say weakly.

"Oh yeah?"

"With you, I stopped, because I knew it wouldn't be casual. With Dean I went through with it."

It took him a moment for him to wrap his mind around what she just said. His eyes softened slightly.

"While we're getting things out then," he started. "Tell me why my sleeping around bothers you so much."

"I guess...because I've been through this with Logan and it scares me that you have the capacity to do that too. Plus the daddy issue. It hits too close to home, Jess. It should for you, too. And babies from drunken one night stands are not that rare, you know."

"I... I can't be a..."

"I hope you're not," she said quietly and fell silent for a moment. "Are we done fighting yet? I've had enough for one day."

"That depends," he said and exhaled heavily, letting his head fall on the door behind him. "You haven't slept with Kirk, have you?"

"Eww, you're disgusting!" she smacked his shoulder but smiled.

"Just trying to get a feel whether you have a thing for town idiots in aprons or what is it," he said, smirking himself.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too."

"How is your cheek?"

He laughed and touched it. "You're stronger than you look. Or you had tons of practice."

"All natural talent," she beamed.

* * *

**Please leave a review! I've missed them like crazy!**


	11. The Last Night Of Freedom

**A/N: This chapter has been driving me crazy for some time now, so I'm publishing, because I can't look at it any more. Something completely light-hearted after the seriousness of the last two. I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review!**

**Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls? Mine? I don't think so. **

* * *

It was 2 a.m. She had been in bed for an hour already but it was impossible to sleep. It was too hot, her arm under the cast was itching like crazy, she was excited and worried about the bachelorette party and the wedding and to top it off, Jess was on her mind. Constantly. She wasn't able to pin point the exact day when he started to be the first thing her mind drifted to when she woke up in the morning, or when he started to be the last thing on her mind before sleep took over. But those were usually just fleeting thoughts and images of him. Now, every time when she tried to occupy her thoughts with the party or the wedding, her thoughts ended up on him eventually anyway, so with a resigned sigh she gave up trying to distract herself and let her thoughts take her wherever they wanted to.

Suddenly it was dawn, she was sitting opposite him on the couch in their living room, a duvet thrown over the two of them, their legs slightly touching, his eyes on hers and the fact that she just poured her heart out to him about her relationship with Logan oddly insignificant. His usually dark, inscrutable eyes were warm, which she tried to justify by the rays of early morning sunlight reflecting in them. She remembered a feeling of safety washing over her at that moment.

'Jess' and 'safety' in the same line was something rather new and she liked the sound of it. But as soon as she was away from him and therefore able to think clearly, she was scared to trust that feeling of safety. Why was it all so confusing and complicated?

She groaned and flipped so she lay on her stomach, and covered her head with her pillow, hoping to erase Jess from her mind for the time being.

He disappeared for a split second.

But there was a Jess waiting for her under the pillow as well, only this one was leaning against the doorframe of Matthew's room in the apartment above Truncheon, in that way that only Jess could lean against things, lazily but somehow almost seductively. He had no shirt on. The word 'tease' had never made more sense to her as he stood there, so close but still untouchable, making no effort whatsoever yet still crumbling her already hopeless resolve to think of him in a way that could be considered platonic. His freshly washed hair was dishevelled, every muscle of his thin shoulders visible, the light outline of his abs, the V on his abdomen, all begging to be touched and... and... Oh God.

She threw the dirty thoughts-inducing pillow across the room and sat up, reaching to get her cell phone from the night stand to check the time. There was a new message that came five minutes earlier but she didn't hear it. Why on earth didn't she hear an incoming message?

'_Only read your text now. Surely I can get out of giving a best man speech? J'_

She smiled at that and started writing a reply but soon it was over the text word limit, so she deleted the message and pressed number seven on her speed dial.

"Huh, calling at 2 a.m., how wild of you Gilmore," his voice welcomed her.

"Oh well, my wild side comes out at night," she answered yawning. He chuckled on the other side of the line and she blushed furiously, only realising how that sounded. "That's not what I meant!"

"Whatever," he said, a smirk evident in his voice.

"Anyway," she changed the subject quickly. "You're never asleep at this time of the night so I'm just calling to tell you that there is no way you can get out of the best man speech, it's tradition!"

"Rory, you know my stance on tradition, right?"

"Jess, this is important," she pleaded. "It doesn't have to be long. Besides, you're a writer, aren't you supposed to be good with words?"

"Yeah, key words 'supposed to'."

"Jess-"

"Okay, okay, I'll come up with something. Don't count on more than two sentences though."

"It's fine. Remember you're doing this for Luke and he will appreciate it."

"Can I at least make it smart-assed?"

"I'd be worried if you didn't. No sick bedroom jokes though, it's still my mother and Luke we're talking about and that would just gross me out."

"You got it," he said sincerely. "One more thing though."

"What?"

"I really, really hate champagne. I can't make a toast with that."

Rory giggled. "We'll get you some grape juice in your glass, will that be okay?"

"Perfect. I'll wear suspenders with trains on them and be a regular five-year old."

She grinned from ear to ear, looking at the ceiling. "So... before I interrupted you, were you reading or writing?"

"Just... staring at a blank page."

"Writer's block?"

"Concentration issues," he answered vaguely and for a moment, biting her lip, she pondered whether his concentration issues may have had a similar source to her insomnia. She dismissed the thought quickly, deeming it as wishful thinking and decided to end the conversation there.

It came out rather lamely. "Well, I hope you get through that."

"Yeah, me too."

"What will you get to town?"

"Around noon."

"Okay. I'll let you get some sleep then."

"Goodnight Rory."

"Night," she answered and ended the call. "Dodger," she added quietly to herself.

Within a minute she was in the tight embrace of Morpheus, who, fortunately for her sanity, didn't allow her to remember her dreams in the morning.

* * *

Rory was sitting in the diner, going through some of her notes regarding the wedding and sipping her coffee, having to hold the cup in left hand uncomfortably. Suddenly a suit bag landed on her table and she lifted her head to tell off whoever threw it there.

"Jess!" came out of her mouth instead. "You're here!"

"I heard there's a wedding in town and I'm a sucker for small town weddings, so I figured I'd show up. Hey," he said, embracing her briefly and she smiled at the fact that they both became the hugging types.

"Is that your outfit?" she pointed at the bag.

"Yes, that's my outfit."

"You know, I'm still mad at you for getting out of wearing a tuxedo. No time for getting your measurements? You're laughable, Mariano."

"Since the argument that it's eighty-five degrees outside didn't work, I had to come up with something else. Is Luke here?"

"He should be in the kitchen," Rory answered.

"I'm gonna go and say hi," Jess gestured in the direction of the counter.

"You can bring me back some fries," she grinned.

"You know, a broken arm is a pretty weak excuse for not ordering food for yourself."

"I'm just ordering!"

"Sorry to break this to you, Gilmore, but I don't work here anymore."

"Must be the power of habit."

He smirked and walked away, while she grinned and looked after him.

He reappeared after a couple of minutes, put a plate full of fries in front of her and sat in a chair on the opposite side of the table.

"Okay, Jess, there are some wedding related details I need to go over with you," she started.

"Wow, no small talk first? Not even, 'how was the drive, Jess?'"

"Oh, sorry," she apologised in a fantastically sarcastic manner that Michel himself would be proud of. "How are you, Jess? How is work? How is writing?"

"Okay, no small talk," Jess agreed.

"When are Harriet and Matt getting here?"

"Tomorrow, mid-afternoon. Which reminds me that I have to kill you for inviting them."

"At least you'll have Matt's moral support at the bachelor party. And this leads me on to my next point. Where are you taking the bachelors?"

"What?"

"Who," she corrected. "The bachelors. As the best man, you are supposed to organise some sort of a bachelor party."

"Why did no one tell me this?" he grimaced while Luke came out of the kitchen. "Luke, why didn't you mention a bachelor party?"

"I was hoping they'd forget and we'd get away with not having one," Luke explained from behind the counter.

"See," Jess turned to Rory. "If the groom doesn't want one-"

"Come on, Jess, at least take them out to the bar and give them some male-bonding time," Rory replied.

"And who are we talking about here?" he eyed her suspiciously.

She reached for her notebook and skipped a couple of pages. "Obviously Luke, Jackson, TJ, Zach, Kirk, Morey, Andrew and Bootsy. And my grandpa, I think he's coming too. Then you and Matt. Oh, and we're trying to get Michel to go with the guys this time. Can you write down Michel for me here? I still can't hold a stupid pen."

Jess's head fell on the table in frustration but he reached for her pen and scribbled what she asked for.

"Anyway, so everyone is meeting here tomorrow at seven o'clock," Rory continued. "And mom said she'll kill you personally if she finds out that there were strippers," she grinned.

* * *

Jess entered Luke's apartment in the evening. He found April sitting at the table, reading something, and he curiously walked over to lift her book slightly and see the title.

"Ah, jeez!" he exclaimed and moved away as if it was the plague. "You know, last time we talked you were reading Tolkien, which is good if you want to read fantasy, and I was actually predicting a pretty bright future for you."

"Everyone is talking about this," April motioned towards her book, trying to defend her literary choice.

"So? Have you read _Dracula_?"

"No, I haven't," the girl sighed, sensing that her cousin wouldn't let it slide.

"You shouldn't be allowed to touch this until you have. What's with people and this vampire-mania lately anyhow?" Jess mused.

"They are kind of hot," April stated.

"Please. Elves. Witches. They can be hot. Not vampires. And anyway, aren't you fifteen?" he frowned.

"Oh yes, because I bet you were only reading _Pippi Longstocking_ at fifteen," she countered.

His frown deepened. "Good point. So, Gaiman?"

"I've read _Stardust_."

"Good. Read_ American Gods_... A bit of a jump here but how about Ursula K. Le Guin?"

"I've heard about her."

"We are so going to the bookstore."

April grinned. "Thanks, Jess."

"No problem, I need to go and stock up anyway," he mumbled and got out his cell phone to text Rory.

'_April's here and she's reading Twilight. Andrew's tomorrow? J'_

He waited for a reply for a minute but when it didn't come he went into the bathroom to take a shower.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the apartment door and Rory entered with a pile of books in her healthy arm, seemingly struggling with them because she had to knock.

"Hi April. I heard you need something to read so I come bearing books."

"Oh wow, thanks Rory."

"Is Jess here?" Rory asked, dropping the books on the table.

"He's taking a shower." As if on cue, the bathroom door opened and a shirtless Jess walked into the room. "Speak of the devil," April noted, while Rory unconsciously bit her lower lip. It didn't escape the younger girl's attention. "He's got a pretty great musculoskeletal system, doesn't he?" she asked, matter-of-factly.

Rory blushed deeply, recalling her thoughts from the night before while Jess grabbed a shirt from his bag.

"Jeez. Don't leer at me, women. Oh, you brought books," he turned to look at the table. "Le Guin," he said, hints of amusement detectable in his voice.

"Do you two have some sort of a psychic connection or did you text her to bring that?"

"What do you mean?" Rory asked confusedly. "Jess just wrote that you don't really have anything to read and this was the first box of my books that I got to so I brought it over."

"Psychic connection then," April announced. "Just before you came he was telling me that I should read something by her."

Jess smiled, looking straight at Rory.

"Well," she chuckled, slightly nervously, "great minds think alike, I suppose."

He disappeared in the bathroom again and the girls heard the sound of a hairdryer a moment later.

April seemed to have been waiting for this. She looked at Rory carefully.

"Why did you blush when I commented on his musculoskeletal system?" she asked with sheer curiosity. "It's not like you haven't seen it before, is it?"

"What?"

"Miss Patty filled me in on how you two were all over each other in high school and you do have great chemistry even though it seems a little dimmed right now, you know, like married-for-ten-years kind of dimmed but that eye contact right now was really intense and I figured that you-"

"April!"

"Is she talking about hot vampires again?" Jess asked, emerging from the bathroom.

"Never mind," April said. "Jess, are you done there? I want to take a shower now."

He nodded in response and she disappeared, stopping to take her pyjamas from her suitcase.

Rory stepped closer to Jess, looking at the bathroom door suspiciously.

"She's impossible," she whispered.

"She's not bad."

"No, no, no, I'm not saying she's bad, she's just really... direct."

"For someone who grew up with Lorelai Gilmore as her mother and best friend, that's got to say something," Jess smirked.

"It's a different kind of direct. Mom is never really serious. April is very serious, in a... I don't know, scientific way. Very matter-of-fact."

"Is it weird that you're gonna be step-sisters as of Saturday?"

"Yeah, I guess. Everything is weird. She's gonna be my step-sister, Luke's gonna be my step-dad, you're gonna be my step-cousin... But it's a good weird. I like this weird," she smiled.

"I dare you to start casually calling Luke 'daddy' and get him all flustered."

She started giggling. "You're kind of late. Mom asked me to do it already."

"Damn."

* * *

Jess saw Harriet's car pulling in in front of the diner.

Luke closed up early in the afternoon, and was supposed to spend the rest of it in his apartment, catching up with April until he was specifically asked to come down for his bachelor party. It gave Jess half of the day alone to organise things and he had to work hard to contain his grin. It's been too long since he last pulled a prank in this town.

But he had to look disinterested now for the sake of his reputation. Even in front of two of his closest friends. He dropped two boxes he brought over and reached for his book quickly, leaning on the counter.

"What the hell took you so long?" he welcomed Harriet and Matt when that infuriating bell above the door rang.

"We couldn't find this place on the map," Matthew answered.

"Fair enough," Jess grunted.

"So this is Luke's?"

"Yeah, this is Luke's."

"I can just picture the angry, seventeen year old Jess Mariano with his hair all sticking up from an overdose of hair gel, swearing under his breath while pouring people coffee," Harriet smiled teasingly.

"Hey, that picture you saw was just taken on a bad hair day, I did not overdose on gel!" he attempted to defend himself.

"If that's what you need to believe. What is all this stuff?" Harriet asked, motioning at the two big boxes.

"Just some stuff for Luke's bachelor party."

"Who's organising it?"

"There's nothing to organise," Jess answered, trying to appear careless and not let his smirk emerge.

"Jessica..." Harriet pressed.

"I'm not organising anything, alright? I'm just making sure that they will all squirm."

"That sounds more like you."

"It's not much of a party anyway. More like a night of doing Luke stuff," Jess explained.

"I'll refrain of throwing in a dirty comment," Matt said, raising his brow.

"You do that. This will be the most innocent bachelor party ever anyway."

"Really?"

"It has to be, otherwise there would be a threat of TJ bringing up my mother and I don't really want to make fighting with him on bachelor parties a tradition."

"I'm liking the sound of it," Harriet nodded, half-approvingly, half-mockingly. "What have you planned?"

He shamelessly ignored the question. "Rory's gonna be here any minute now to pick you and April up and take you to the bachelorettes party."

"Cool," Harriet answered. "I can't wait to see Lorelai's face when I show up."

"Take pictures, I could use something to bribe her with when she decides to execute me for my best man speech."

"You prepared it yet?"

"I refuse to comment on that. Now I have other things on my mind. Like making sure that Luke goes crazy tonight."

"Matt, what do you think happened to the Jess we know from Philly?"

"He's got a small town alter ego that organises parties on his own accord, even, dare I say it, with a hint of enthusiasm."

"Shut up, Matthew. The guys should start getting here any minute and I need your help with getting them to wear this," he pointed to one of the boxes. "When you see a too-posh-for-this-world French guy, leave him to me, I need to get my fun for tonight too."

"It sounds very wrong," Matt commented.

"You are making up for Chris's absence by trying to find innuendos in everything I say, aren't you?"

"He made me write a statement on paper to make sure I will," Matt nodded, causing Harriet to burst out with laughter.

"Boys, put this on right now, I'm gonna get my camera from the car," she ordered with a grin.

* * *

"Are you out of your mind?" Michel said with a horrified expression, looking at a flannel shirt and a baseball cap that Jess was handling to him. "This is preposterous, I cannot wear this!"

"Michel, I promise you, it will not mess up your hair," Jess deadpanned, motioning at the man's bald head.

"No!" Michel exclaimed rather hysterically.

"Come on, embrace the Luke within you," Jess kept persuading, biting on his cheek to prevent a grin from emerging on his face. Damn. Holding back laughter used to be so much easier.

"I have no Luke within me, you evil, evil..." he struggled for an appropriate word. "Flannel doesn't go with my shoes!" he exclaimed instead.

"Tragic!" Jess gasped dramatically, unable to help himself. "Look, Michel, everyone else is ready, put it on so that we can call Luke and go. And for the record, I really am sorry if your shoes don't like where we're going."

"Mr. Gilmore," Michel addressed Richard. "Could you please help me and persuade him that wearing this is below some well-bred men, a concept that he doesn't understand?."

"Oh, truthfully," Richard answered, smiling widely. "This is rather delightful. The shirt reminds me of my days at Yale. We wore those when we were helping to plant out a forest during sophomore year."

"Man, I tell you, I am loving this cap," TJ's voice came through in the diner filled with men in flannel shirts and baseball caps put on backwards.

"Good for you, TJ," Jess said sarcastically and stepped behind the curtain to the apartment. "Uncle Luke, come on down, it's time to party!"

* * *

"Mom, come on, there is someone I want you to meet before we go," Rory said, entering Lorelai's bedroom. "Remember that I've mentioned Jess's friends from Philly who are now my friends too and I really wanted them to be here?"

"Sure, I wouldn't ever forget the fact that you invited the hoodlum's delinquent friends to my wedding," Lorelai said, grinning and followed her daughter down the stairs, where a blonde in her early thirties was standing, smiling widely.

"Mom, I don't know if you remember or not-" Rory started, but Lorelai interrupted her.

"Oh my God. The pre-wedding stress is catching up with me. Little Harry Johnson!"

"That's me," Harriet answered. "Hi Lorelai!"

Lorelai stood there with her mouth in a shape of a perfect 'o', staring. "You haven't changed a bit since you were ten!"

Harriet chuckled at this. "Not at all. You know, pistachio is still my favourite flavour of ice-cream."

"Despite all my effort to convert you into loving coffee more?" Lorelai asked and Harriet nodded. "That has got to be the biggest failure of my existence! What are you doing here?" she continued with a bright smile. "I mean, I know Rory invited you but... kid, did you mention that you met through Jess? Jess-Mariano-Jess?" she inquired, still in shock.

"No, mom, obviously it was Jess the Cat," Rory rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Jess and I work together at Truncheon and we're friends," Harriet explained.

"So it is true! Loin fruit, all this time, I thought you were making up stories but here I've got living proof. Jess has friends!" Lorelai exclaimed. "But enough about Jess. Wow, Harriet, I've got to give you a hug, girl. How long has it been? Five years?"

"Add twenty to that and it will be pretty accurate," Harriet answered from Lorelai's embrace.

"Ah! Don't remind me about how old I am on my last day of freedom!"

"I won't do it again, I promise."

"Now, come on, we've got a party to get to!"

* * *

Luke couldn't contain laughter, even though he knew he should be mad at Jess for doing all this.

He was standing by a lake, surrounded by a forest and Kirk, Michel, TJ and Richard Gilmore amongst others, all dressed exactly like him.

"So this is my bachelor party?" he chuckled.

"This is it," Jess confirmed with that damned smirk of his in place.

"It's very original."

"It's very you, and you are quite a specimen, uncle Luke. We just wanted to show you how much we all look up to you."

"Michel really looks like he does," Luke laughed.

"Just say a word and we'll throw him in the lake."

"As entertaining as that might be, Jess, he'd have you pay for his suit and you can't afford that."

"Right. I was about to suggest making him jump over the bonfire but the suit gets in the way of that too."

"Just wait for it, I bet TJ will jump on his own."

"Kirk might follow."

"Jess," Luke said slowly with a frown, observing Kirk. "We have to put out the fire. Unless you want to give them a health and safety speech."

Jess looked in the same direction for a moment. "I'm going to get water from the lake."

* * *

The girls settled at Miss Patty's, where round tables were set up for the occasion. Food, complete with a giant coffee cake with Lorelai's face on it, courtesy of Sookie, was set up on a large table in front of the stage, onto which Rory and Lane just climbed up.

"Ladies, attention please!" Rory started to the microphone. "Thank you. We are gathered here tonight to celebrate the last night of freedom of our one and only Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, soon to become Gilmore-Danes!" Rory exclaimed and the room responded with a series of applause and whistles, causing Emily Gilmore to shift uncomfortably in her chair.

"Yes, and on this very special occasion we would not only like to congratulate you, Lorelai," Lane took over.

"And offer our best wishes," Rory chimed in, seeing the disgusted look on her grandmother's face.

"But, as your friends," Lane continued, "we want to make sure that you know that you still have other options. Let's have a look at some of them!" With those words she directed a remote control at a projector and to almost everyone's delight, the image projected above the stage showed a Lorelai photoshopped into a tight embrace of George Clooney.

"Candidate number one: George Clooney," Lane announced. "Rory, present us with the pro/con list please."

"Pros," Rory started. "He's… George Clooney."

"Twice The Sexiest Man Alive!" Patty exclaimed.

"Patty, don't you have enough gossip in town, you have to read People?" Gypsy asked.

"Look at you, well informed," Patty countered with a smile.

"Ladies!" Rory called from the stage and addressed Lorelai again. "Be with him, and you'll never have to visit a hospital again!"

"I like that!" Lorelai shouted. "How tall is he?"

"That's unfortunately a con: 5ft10. That would mean you wouldn't be able to wear high heels. Also, he's opposed to marriage."

"Ah, not good George, move on!" Lorelai exclaimed laughing.

"But we have more cons and pros!"

"What good is a man who you cannot drag to the altar," Patty backed up Lorelai.

"Okay," Lane started. "Candidate number two: Humphrey Bogart!" This time, the projector showed a black and white Lorelai in an evening gown, her arm linked with the legendary gentleman. "Rory-"

"Pros! He starred in all the greatest movies ever. No one looks as good as he in a fedora. He definitely liked the concept of marriage, since he had four wives. Cons? Only one. He's been dead for half a century."

"Shame!"

"Candidate number three… we're back to the 80's… David Hasselhoff!" The photo was of Lorelai in her favorite winter gear, hugging tightly David Hasselhoff in nothing but an orange speedo. The room erupted in unreserved laughter, even Emily shook her head, trying to hide her amazement.

The night carried on in that fashion, with tons of laughter, cake and Miss Patty's Founders' Day punch.

* * *

Jess stood on his own, leaning against a tree and observing the craziness.

TJ was unskilfully hitting the strings of his guitar and whining dolefully. Apparently alcohol made the man melancholic. Jess didn't know how his mother could possibly put up with him, but then again, Liz's taste in men has always been questionable, to say the least.

Michel, since the campfire was put down, was pacing around the clearing with a candle in his hands. He claimed it helped to keep the mosquitoes away. Then he got a panic attack when he spilled some wax on his suit. Jess only smirked, thinking it was his own damn fault, he should have kept the flannel on.

Jackson, on his part, disappeared into the wood for a moment and returned elated, having found some kind of rare berries. How he did it, with only a torch to light his way, Jess didn't know.

His people-watching got interrupted by no one else but a tipsy Richard Gilmore. All the scotch he drank on a regular basis must have made him forget how to handle his beer.

"Excuse me, young man, I think we haven't met yet. Richard Gilmore," he said extending his hand.

"Jess Mariano, nice to meet you Mr Gilmore," he answered, shaking his hand. For some reason he had to try hard not to laugh.

"Oh please, call me Richard." Jess imagined Emily's face if he did. Oh shit. How did it not occur to him before that Emily Gilmore was going to be at the wedding? Maybe it was better to jump into the lake now. "So, Jess, who are you?" Richard continued.

Jess reached for his bottle of water and took a large sip to steal some time. What was the right answer to that question? 'A high school dropout'? 'A writer wannabe'? 'A guy who's in love with your granddaughter but is too terrified to do anything about it'?

"Luke's nephew," he replied finally.

"Oh, how nice. And what do you do?"

"I… co-own a small publishing house in Philadelphia."

"That's fascinating!" Apparently Richard Gilmore was the exact opposite of TJ, and alcohol made him overly enthusiastic. "I can tell you secretly," he started conspiratorially, "that I always wanted to be in the literary business, but the family tradition of being an insurance man prevented me. My father insisted. He was a very adamant man, my father."

"I heard the word business!" Matt said joining them. "Matthew Deyer" he introduced himself. "Jess's best friend, business partner and editor."

"Richard Gilmore," the elder man introduced himself again and Matt shot Jess an unreadable look. "Did you say editor?" Richard inquired curiously.

"One novel published three years ago and the second one in progress," Matthew nodded.

"Matt," Jess said in a warning tone.

"I think I've just said something I shouldn't have."

"Well, I think it's wonderful! I would love to read it! I'm sure my granddaughter would too, she loves to read and she has some exquisite literary taste, except that she hates Hemingway, which I always thought was a shame. The two of you should meet her."

"We know Rory," Matt answered. "Some of us have even tried to convert her to Hemingway, right, Jess?"

Jess glared at his friend, taking his ringing phone out of his pocket. "Rory's too stubborn." He glanced at his cell phone. "It's Harriet, excuse me for a moment."

"Harriet? His girlfriend?" Richard asked.

"My girlfriend. Jess loves Rory."

"Oh. How delightful," Richard Gilmore said with a happy smile and adjusted his baseball cap.

* * *

Lorelai, Liz and Harriet somehow ended up at a table together, just the three of them. That is, the three of them plus vodka shots and Patty's punch, which meant that soon they started seeing double.

"I had no idea that you two knew each other! That is so amazing!" Liz gushed.

"I know!" Lorelai said and hiccupped. "I would never have thought that Little Harry who was my faithful follower when I was a teenager would be BFFs with Jess."

"Oh, my boy has done good for himself," Liz nodded. "He's got really great friends too. Harriet, Rory..."

"Speaking of Rory," Harriet chimed in, raising her glass of Miss Patty's punch to her mouth. "Do you have any idea when those two are getting together? Because this friend-ish thing they have going on is eating Jess up."

"He shouldn't be single," Liz shook her head in drunken sadness. "I didn't give birth to such a good-looking kid for him to be single."

"I know your pain, sister, it's the same with Rory," Lorelai said and suddenly jumped up in her chair, spilling a shot glass of vodka all around. They didn't pay attention though, they were too immersed in the topic of their conversation. "I know! We should help them!"

"How?" Liz sighed heavily.

"We could... lock them in a closet together," Lorelai volunteered but Harriet protested.

"I got them locked in a very small bathroom and nothing happened."

All three of them hang their heads down, deep in thought.

"We could take them to my parents' house and lock them out on the balcony!"

"How would that help?" Harriet inquired.

"That balcony? It does things to people!"

"Things like what?"

"It makes them take their clothes off," Lorelai whispered conspiratorially to the other two women.

"Please don't tell me you caught Emily and Richard there," Harriet winced.

"Shhh, she'll hear you!" Lorelai looked around her shoulder to see her mother laughing with Babette "No. I was the naked one. And not once!"

They all giggled whole-heartedly.

"How about we just make them talk?" Harriet suggested.

"You know what?" Liz started with a frown. "I like it. It's simple," she nodded.

Rory chose that moment to approach their table to check on them. "How are you doing, ladies?"

"Rory! It's good you're here, we were just talking about you and Jess!" Liz told her.

"What about me and Jess?"

"Your babies would be incredibly cute," her mother responded.

"They would, wouldn't they? I would be Auntie Harriet!"

"I will be Grandma Liz," the woman stated proudly, somehow switching to the future tense.

"No, I will be grandma, you can be granny."

"I don't like Granny Liz."

"And I don't like Granny Lorelai!"

"Then come up with something else," Liz suggested excitedly.

"Well then, I suppose you can be Grandma Liz, I will be Lorelai The Supergran!"

Rory just stood there, staring at them and trying to process their crazy conversation.

"Excuse me, but you are too drunk to make decisions on such crucial matters," she said sarcastically. "You're forgetting that I'm not with Jess and no babies are planned."

"Oh no!" Liz pouted.

Harriet addressed Rory at the same time. "Oh, don't kill our hopes... We know you want him!" she squealed.

"No, I don't!" Rory protested, blushing furiously.

"Yes, you do!" Lorelai and Harriet said simultaneously.

"You totally get the 'I want to have his babies' look on your face when you're around him, babe," Lorelai continued.

"Believe me, he looks great with no shirt on," Harriet added.

"Does he?" Lorelai asked.

"He does," Harriet nodded. "I mean, I love Matthew and Jess is my best friend but he does."

"I wanna see!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Mother!" Rory cried in shock. "You hate Jess!"

"I did but it got boring so I gave up," she replied with a grin and started babbling. "Besides, imagine that you hated Luke but I loved him for years and me and him kept coming back together even though we had other relationships, you would realise that me and Luke are meant to be together and make peace with that, right?" she spit out with the speed of a machine gun. "So I'm all Team Jess honey, you have my blessing."

"Weren't we meant to make them talk?" Liz interrupted.

Harriet raised her hand, signalling them to wait and with a mischievous grin on her face she got out her cell phone and passed it to Lorelai.

"Now Rory's gonna talk to Jess," Lorelai said childishly and giggled.

"Mom!"

"I'm dialling! Beep. Beep."

"Mom!"

"Here, hold it."

"Mom!"

"_Are you calling and pretending I'm your mother again?" _Jess's voice greeted her through the phone. _"'Cause that's just getting old."_

Rory cleared her throat nervously and shook her head, trying to disperse the images that the conversation brought to her head. "Hi. Jess. No, I was just yelling at my mother for pulling a Madeline and Louise."

"_What?"_

"Doesn't matter. How is everything?"

"_Are you calling to check up on me?"_

"You're so egocentric. You are responsible for Luke tonight and I promised mom that I'd make sure that he's okay on the night before his wedding."

"_No signs that he's gonna bail tomorrow."_

"Good."

"_Yep, we're having a great time with the strippers." _

"Jess! There were meant to be no-"

"_The forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest, doesn't it?" _

"Eww!"

"_Ha! Miss Gilmore, you actually have a dirty mind!"_

"Jess!" It wasn't the most eloquent thing to say, but it was still better than 'you have no idea!' which crossed her mind.

"_Okay, okay, I was kidding. There are no strippers. That's what you get for calling and interrupting this fascinating night though."_

"I'm glad you're having fun," she answered grumpily.

"_And how are the bachelorettes doing?" _

"Oh, they are having fun, believe me. Our mothers and Harriet got drunk together."

"_Great."_

"Yeah. They sang. I think it was George Michael. Then they started to talk."

"_Sounds-"_

She interrupted him, making up something on the spot. "Then it got playful and they started showing each other their birthmarks. Oh, and Patty joined them."

"_Ah jeez!"_

"Payback!" Rory chuckled.

"_You're evil!"_

"Sorry. Hey, you don't sound drunk," she stated, slightly surprised.

"_I'm not drinking with all of them around me, they'd probably take the opportunity and... drown me or something."_

"Well, it was good to talk to someone who isn't completely intoxicated," she said and glared at her mother. "See you tomorrow?"

"_Sure. Bye."_

"Bye."

She put her phone down and found the three women looking at her intently.

"You're seeing him tomorrow?" Lorelai asked.

"Mom, it's your wedding tomorrow! He's the best man, I'm the maid of honour, I certainly hope I'll be seeing him tomorrow!" Rory snapped, waving her healthy arm frantically. "Come on, I need to get you home. You are going to have the hangover of the century tomorrow. And boy, I can imagine your face when you're sober and I tell you how you suggested that you want grandkids, by Jess of all people."

Lorelai stood up slowly and leaned on Rory.

"Bye girls, I had a great time tonight!"

* * *

"What the hell is Kirk doing?" Luke asked, approaching his nephew who sat on the ground, next to Matt.

Jess turned around and frowned. "This... could have originated from break dance," he answered.

"Break, break," Luke muttered. "It's certainly contributing to my nervous breakdown which will undoubtedly happen between now and the wedding. What will Lorelai do if I go crazy?"

"Nothing, you'll be a perfect match for her."

"Remember it's my wife-to-be you're talking about," Luke said, smiling nonetheless.

"Relax, Uncle Luke," Jess said lazily and patted the ground next to him, signalling for Luke to sit down. "You've been living in this experiment of a town your whole life, you're immune. Plus, it's not like you haven't been married before," he ended with a smirk.

"This is different."

"I know," Jess shrugged, sensing seriousness creeping into the conversation. "It's what you wanted for years, isn't it?"

"You have no idea."

"Oh, I think he has," Matthew chimed in.

"Not this again," Jess groaned.

Luke instantly grinned. "You know, Rory's going to become my step daughter tomorrow, I think it is my duty to kick your ass if you refer to her as 'this' again," he said and sipped his beer.

"I am not having this conversation with you. Neither of you."

"Sure you're not. Just be careful, Jess, for both of you."

"There is nothing to be careful about."

Luke and Matthew just shook their heads simultaneously.

And he realised himself that what he said was complete rubbish. There was so much to be careful about. So much that they could screw up right now.

Truth be told, Jess Mariano had been this scared only a couple of times in his life. And by some weird coincidence, every one of those times was somehow connected to a certain blue-eyed Rory Gilmore.

* * *

"Do you think you and Jess can wait until Luke and I get some babies of our own? It would be weird if your kids were older than our kids."

"Mom, I'm really not planning any babies. Get some sleep now."

Lorelai ignored her and her face grew serious.

"Rory, honey, let me tell you something," she patted an empty space on the bed next to her, showing her daughter to sit down. "I know I'm drunk but I need to tell you this and then when I'm sober I can blame this on the alcohol. You know I love you unconditionally, right?"

"Right," Rory answered uncertainly, not sure what her mother was getting at.

"Okay. But throughout your Yale days, you were different. Now you feel more like the old Rory, more mature, of course, but I really do think that my baby's back now-"

"Mom, you know that-"

"Shh, I'm not done yet. I cannot help but notice that the time when you were different was the time when Jess was out of your life. So what I'm saying is that in some twisted way, his hoodlumy presence brings out the real you."

"'Hoodlumy' is not a word. And... you really think so?"

"I do. And he's grown, Rory. I didn't believe that at first but I can see it now."

"Yeah. He is grown."

"You're scared? That he might leave again?" Lorelai asked, fighting to keep her eyes open for a moment more.

"No, I'm scared of many things but not of him leaving," Rory sighed. "He always comes back."


	12. The Tension Unbearable

**A/N: A shorter chapter for a change, but there will be more of the wedding!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Not the characters, not even the scenario is particularly original. Oh well.**

* * *

"It's awfully loud here," Emily Gilmore said to her husband, as family and friends were slowly gathering in front of the Dragonfly Inn. "My head is pounding," she complained.

"That is because you are hung over, dear," Richard whispered.

"So are you, Richard! This is exactly what happens when they serve cheap alcohol!" she added with disdain.

"I haven't seen you so intoxicated since college," he chuckled in response.

"Oh, stop it, you weren't able to register anything yourself last night... Richard, do you see that boy next to Luke? I know him, I know I do but I simply cannot place his face anywhere. It's going to bother me now."

"His name is Jess, Emily. A very pleasant young man."

"A… a very… I cannot believe this!"

"What's there to not believe, Emily... oh look," he answered, motioning towards his approaching granddaughter. "Rory! It's good to see you!"

"Hi Grandpa. Hello Grandma," she said with a smile, giving each of them a one-armed hug.

"Well, look at you, all spectacular even with your arm in a cast."

"Thank you, Grandpa."

"Rory, what is he doing here?" Emily asked, motioning towards Jess.

"Uh, oh, Jess? He's Luke's nephew, Grandma, and the best man."

"That is outrageous, he cannot be trusted with such an important responsibility!"

"Grandma, I promise you, he is pretty responsible these days," Rory answered nervously.

"Fine. So, who is your date for today?" Emily asked somewhat bitterly.

"I uh…" she wanted to say truthfully that she didn't have one, but it crossed her mind that her grandmother might call one of her friends to get someone's son on the very last minute. It was probably against the rules for a young woman to attend a wedding on her own. Her eyes found Luke who stood together with Jess and Matt, she almost said 'Jess' but changed her mind in the last second, wanting to avoid Emily's unfriendly comments. It came out sounding like "Je-Matt".

"Is he Indian?"

"Excuse me?" Rory asked distractedly, struggling to get her eyes off a certain writer boy, who, for the special occasion, was dressed in slacks, a white shirt with rolled up sleeves and a black waist coat, his outfit completed with a thin black tie and a smirk to die for.

"Jemat," Emily repeated. "The name sounds Indian."

"Oh, no, Grandma, it's Matt, I'm just nervous and I can't speak properly." Damn right she was nervous. She just didn't know how much of this nervousness could be attributed to the fact that her mother was about to get married. Her mind was off somewhere on the outfit that proved to be so much better than a tux. It… it emphasised the lankiness of his figure. And the rolled up sleeves were so... Jess. And he chose it himself, which earned him additional points for style.

"Rory? You seem distracted," Richard interrupted her train of thought.

"Well, I should probably get back to mom, make sure she's ready. Grandpa, I'll send someone to get you, is that okay?"

"Of course."

"Great, I'll see you later," she said and walked inside the Dragonfly.

"She seems strange today," Emily commented to her husband, looking after their disappearing granddaughter.

"The girl is nervous, Emily, she said so herself."

"She's giddy."

"Maybe that has something to do with that Jemat."

* * *

Jess didn't see Rory for the past hour or so, meaning that when he did see her last - when she was greeting her grandparents, she was still wearing a light yellow summer dress. She looked gorgeous, though that was a given.

But when he stood next to Luke in front of a huppah set up in the Dragonfly garden and both the bride, with her arm linked through her father's, and the maid of honour emerged at the same time due to the Gilmore gracefulness, or arguable lack thereof, a simultaneous "whoa" escaped the lips of both the uncle and the nephew. The only difference was in the fact that Luke's exclamation was full of satisfaction and joy while Jess's – barely masked fear. The two men turned to each other briefly to throw each other a surprised and rather distasted look before Luke's eyes returned to Lorelai and Jess stared blankly into space. Rory's azure dress that covered only one of her shoulders and exposed fully her left collarbone as well as accentuated the curve of her hips was not meant to be looked at. It was deadly.

As Reverend Skinner was greeting all the gathered guests, Jess was leading a rather vulgar inner monologue, the aim of which was to make himself concentrate on the task at hand instead of thinking about a wedding night which certainly did not involve the bride and the groom, and was very much blue instead of white.

It was pretty damn hard.

* * *

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," Reverend Skinner's voice announced, accompanied by Sookie's heartfelt sobbing, babbling of one of Lane's twins and a deep, relieved sigh of Emily Gilmore. "You may kiss the bride."

Luke and Lorelai took the instruction very seriously, as they didn't seem to be able to pull away, earning a heart-felt applause from the wedding guests and an eye-roll from Jess, currently deep into eye contact with Rory, who was smiling widely at him and the scene in front of her.

As the wedding march resounded and the newlyweds headed down the aisle, everyone's eyes turned to the happy couple. Harriet was a definite exception from everyone, as her gaze was fixed on the maid of honour who wore a happy smile on her face, until her arm linked with the best man's. The two suddenly looked as if they were electrocuted, and she couldn't help but smirk as Rory's face turned visibly red, Jess, on his part, paled, and the two exchanged a nervous look, after which they seemed to make a point of looking straight ahead. Harriet didn't doubt that for the couple the moment was insanely intense but from the outside, it was hilarious.

When the guests rose from their chairs, she stepped aside and pulling a piece of paper and a pen from her purse, she scribbled a few words. She smiled even wider when she felt Matt's arm sneak around her waist and he read what she wrote over her shoulder.

"Are you serious?" he asked with a frown.

"Very," she nodded. "There's no way they will hold out any longer."

"Whatever you say-"

"I'm always right," she smiled to him sweetly.

"Exactly. And frankly, I'm beginning to see where you're coming from."

"Really?" Harriet eyed him carefully.

"Yeah, well, it's not like he just wants to do her, he's totally whipped," Matt answered.

"I will dismiss the wording you used and concentrate on how funny it is that even you notice that. Now come on," she said and pulled his hand. "Jess!" she called, stopping him while he was trying to get as far as possible from Rory.

"Hey."

"You and Rory did really well up there," she said and handed him the folded piece of paper.

He looked at her with confusion before looking questionably at Matthew, who only gave him a shrug. "Thanks. What's this?"

"Just... something. Don't read it until tomorrow morning."

"O-kay," he took the piece of paper and put it in the pocket of his waistcoat.

* * *

"Mom! You're married!" Rory exclaimed, enthusiastically throwing her arms around Lorelai.

"I know, kid!" Mrs Gilmore-Danes answered her with a grin.

"Well, good!" Rory pulled away from her mother and turned to Luke. "Hi, daddy," she smiled before hugging him too. "Congratulations."

Luke grunted. "Who bribed you into calling me that, Jess or Lorelai?"

Rory giggled. "Both of them."

Luke shook his head and looked at his wife. "And you call yourself my family."

"I do, don't I?" she grinned even wider and kissed him.

"Um, can you please not do this right in front of me?" Rory interrupted.

"You're just jealous," Lorelai told her, not realising how accurate the statement was.

Rory took a deep breath and fanned herself with her hand. "Why on earth is it so hot today?"

* * *

While Lorelai and Luke were still greeting their family and friends and receiving congratulations and best wishes, Rory escaped with a glass of champagne and stood alone, looking around at the cheerful wedding crowd.

"So he really is back, huh?" Paris asked rhetorically, approaching her and glancing towards Jess. "He's grown even cuter over the years."

"Paris!"

"What?"

"Jess is... a good friend, I don't want to him to be objectified."

"By anyone but you."

She cleared her throat. "What?" .

"Oh, stop kidding yourself, Gilmore. We've had this conversation when we were seventeen. You can't be just friends with him. I've seen the way you look at him."

"Oh my God!" Rory exploded. "Am I really that transparent?"

"Like jellyfish," Paris confirmed.

"Please don't compare me to jellyfish. What if he knows?"

"That I just compared you to jellyfish? I'd say chances of that are slim."

"That I... have feelings for him, Paris!"

"Of course he knows. And I think it's safe to say that he has feelings for you too."

"Friendly feelings! I know he cares about me, but I don't know if he even sees me as a woman or just Rory he's known for years and can talk to about literature! What if he just treats me as his book-buddy, completely oblivious to the fact that I get butterflies in my stomach while talking about Hemingway? I mean, Hemingway! He makes Hemingway... exciting!" Rory ranted, waving her arms frantically and spilling some of her champagne onto the grass.

"About him seeing you only as a friend - you're joking, right? Otherwise, you're the most clueless creature on the planet. I mean it, below jellyfish, Gilmore. If that's any comfort for you, he's been checking you out shamelessly when he thought no one was looking. Men."

"Oh," Rory said, blushing slightly. "And you just happened to be looking at him at that moment?"

"Well, I was checking him out, and don't say you blame me."

Rory's face flushed. She didn't blame Paris, she genuinely just didn't want Jess to be checked out... by other women... whatever. "But why isn't he doing anything then?"

"How should I know? He's a guy. They have everything backwards. Besides, you screwed him over pretty badly. You should make a move and see what happens," Paris said harshly but then her tone became thoughtful. "Now that I think of it, I was the one who had to make the first step with Asher. Concerning out physical relationship I mean. Doyle was more forward."

"Paris! I did not need to know that!"

"Hey, I'm just sharing, that's what friends do. You need to ask yourself though – do you trust him?"

Rory stood still for a moment, deep in thought. "Yeah. I do," she answered quietly.

"There you go. By the way, I haven't seen you so crazy about a guy since... ever, so get in there Gilmore and stop being a pain!" she ordered and walked away towards Doyle.

It sounded very appealing indeed but she decided to wait with it, maybe until next week when she was supposed to go to Philly for Nora and Josh's engagement party. Trying something at her mother's wedding was too risky, so she told herself to not drink anymore, just in case, and prayed for self-control. She was going to need a lot of it to last the rest of the day.

As she stood there, sorting through the mess in her head, her eyes suddenly landed on a guest she didn't notice before.

She almost swore loudly in a very un-Rory-like manner.

What was he doing here?

Being in her life was one thing, in her mother's another. But the person she felt truly bad for at the moment was Luke.

Her whole body tensed as she watched him, as he appeared to be looking for someone.

Probably Lorelai. Or her.

"Rory?" Jess approached her, tilting his head to get a better look at her. She briefly noted that it was adorable. "What's wrong?"

"My dad. He's here. How dare he be here? I didn't even know that mom sent him an invitation. And he certainly didn't RSVP," she blurted out with her jaw clenched and hands rolled into fists.

"I thought him and your mom were getting along?"

"They were, they are probably, but this is my dad. He has a thing for weddings." Her eyes shifted from Christopher to Jess, whose eyebrows were raised in an inquiring expression. She sighed and started listing things off for him. "Bachelorette party before mom was meant to marry Max, she called dad and the wedding didn't happen. Sookie's wedding, he came and slept with mom, they decided to be together and on the same day he found out that Sherry was pregnant with Gigi, so he left. Then there was my grandparents' vows renewal when mom and Luke were dating. Dad came, caused this huge drama and broke them up." Rory's palm was on her forehead as she spilled out the information for him. "Lane's wedding was pretty much an intro to everything that happened after mom and Luke broke up the second time. After that, oh irony, mom and dad got married and there was no wedding. I don't know, maybe he asked her to elope with him so he wouldn't have the chance of sabotaging his own wedding?" she spit out angrily. "And now he's here!"

"Wow, the guy has quite a record," Jess said, causing Rory to glare at him. "Which doesn't mean," he added quickly, "that something bad will happen today. We're taking care of this wedding and it will be fine, okay?"

"Promise?" she asked, and immediately regretted it. It sounded too much like she was leaning on him. She couldn't do that, as much as she wanted to.

"You want me to follow him everywhere and make sure he doesn't come near Lorelai or Luke?" he asked with a smirk returning to his face.

She gave him a small smile in return. "As entertaining as it would be watching you following my father, I think I'll just talk to him."

"Sounds like a plan. It will save me from looking like an idiot. I mean, more than I do already, in these ridiculous clothes." He was blatantly fishing for a compliment and she knew it. She just smiled widely and dismissed his comment.

"Sorry for ranting."

"It's fine," he shrugged and suddenly jumped up as he felt an arm wrapping around his waist.

"There you are, dolls," Babette said as Jess froze in her embrace awkwardly, his face expressing such a level of discomfort that Rory could barely suppress a laughter. "You're taking good care of her?" Babette addressed Jess directly.

"What?" he grimaced in response.

"Rory, sugar, you've gotta think long and hard about this. Ask your mother, when you're young you might think that a man's part can be done when he gets out of bed but-"

"Babette, what are you talking about?" Rory interrupted, slightly fascinated, not predicting what was coming.

"Oh, I overheard last night, how you want to have his babies even though you and Jess are not really a couple-"

This time it was Jess who cut in, looking at Rory who was blushing furiously. "Should I be worried here?" he asked but the only response he got was shaking of her head that was now covered by her hands.

Babette looked between the two of them, sensing their obvious discomfort. "Well, I'll leave you kids to talk about it. But Rory doll," she whispered conspiratorially, "if I were you, I'd take him without any babies first, you know, live a little, maybe get a cat," she told Rory and walked away, leaving the two of them astounded and blushing.

Jess tried to process. Unsuccessfully. He blamed her dress for that. He let out a chuckle but tried to adopt a serious face before he spoke up. "So. I thought you weren't drinking last night."

"I wasn't!" she whined. "It was our mothers, I told you! They had too much to drink and they started baby talk!"

"Meaning?" he pressed.

"Meaning they were being silly. Very, very silly. Timon and Pumbaa level of silly." Great. Very sophisticated Disney references. Where was her head when she was with him?

He laughed out loud at that. "Rory," he said expectantly.

"Jess, don't make me say it!"

"Sorry, I'm enjoying myself too much right now. Spill."

She turned around so that he couldn't see her face. "They… They were insinuating that our…" he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around mid-sentence, knocking the wind out of her. The surprise at being practically in his arms made her finish the sentence quietly, looking straight into his eyes, "…babies would be cute."

"Huh."

"Yeah," she bit her lip, not losing the eye contact.

After a few seconds of staring at each other, Jess's eyes drifted away from hers, but he didn't move.

"Ror… we've got to stop doing this."

"How?" she asked simply. These moments of intense staring were obviously becoming a frequent occurrence for them, something they couldn't help. On some masochistic level, they enjoyed the way their knees weakened when the other seemed to look right into the depth of their beings, trying very hard to ignore the desire.

"For the lack of a better option, limit ourselves to phone calls. It shouldn't be hard since you'll be travelling around the country, anyway. And... I want to be friends with you, but this," he motioned to her, his eyes glancing over her dress, "is just too much for me to take."

She swallowed in attempt to ease the dryness in her mouth. "I can think of a better option," she said quietly, her mouth moving without her permission, while her conscious mind wasn't really sure what she was referring to.

"Yeah?"

It is generally acknowledged that breathing is an automatic process that the body performs regardless of a person's state of mind. It didn't seem like it. And if breathing was necessary to sustain a life, then maybe she was dying. In a terribly cheesy and desperate way that only people who are in love are capable of, Rory thought that if she was about to die, she wanted to do so in Jess's arms.

Before her head caught up to the rest of her body, her lips were on his, eager to do what they've been yearning to do for months, years even.

What the spontaneous Rory Gilmore who emerged for the occasion was met with, was, perhaps, the biggest surprise of her lifetime.

Because Jess Mariano stood still and unresponsive, except for his fists that clenched on his sides, leaving deep marks of his fingernails on the flesh of his palms.

The first movement that she actually registered was him pulling away, his presence in front of her being replaced by stinging tears in her eyes and a cold vacuum on this wonderful summer day.

"Rory, we can't," he muttered and took a few steps backwards, his pained eyes still fixed on her, before turning away and disappearing from her sight.

* * *

**A/N: You may notice that the ending is somewhat similar to the ending of chapter 10 of Across The World (which, if you are not reading yet - you must!) but it's a (freaky) coincidence, I had this planned for ages and written for a while. Review? Please? **


	13. The End Of Friendishness

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, and I'm pretty sure it's the one you've been waiting for. Kàra, I was doing my best to save you from an anxiety attack but I didn't manage to post it yesterday. Be warned of fluff. And the car talk is a complete ramble, I really have no idea about cars.  
**

**Disclaimer: Story mine, Gilmores not. **

* * *

He had to get away from everyone, from her, most of all. He started walking ahead, in a direction that seemed empty.

He was by the stables when he realised that what he was doing was in fact running, and he promised himself a couple years earlier that he was through with that.

Fuck.

He leaned against the wooden wall, trying to maintain some sort of stable breathing but all he was able to think about was Rory kissing him, and that wasn't helping. Then came the moment when he grasped with painful clarity that what he did was incredibly cowardly. And Jess Mariano wasn't a coward. Or was he? Was that what he became trying to protect himself from her? And since when was he so careful and protective of his fucking heart? Oh, that's right, since she led him on and proceeded to tell him she was in love with the blonde dick.

From the corner of his eye he noticed Luke exiting the stables and smoothing his dress shirt but he didn't pay much attention to that, he had bigger problems at the moment.

He needed to somehow release the tension of his entire body and mind. Finding Rory and doing ungodly things with her came to mind briefly, but the thought only added to his frustration and he ended up punching a wall of the stable. As he was hissing and shaking his bleeding hand, muttering curses under his breath, Lorelai's white figure emerged from the stable.

"Oh! Oh my God," she exclaimed with her hands dramatically on her heart. "Jess, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing much, just bleeding," he answered casually, indeed feeling better immediately.

She shook her head. "What happened to the promise of being civil?"

"Hey, did you ask other people," he emphasised the two words to make them suggestive enough, "to promise you that, too?"

"I trust Rory to be reasonable."

"Huh."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak slacker. Were you trying to tell me what happened?"

"Nothing happened," he answered with a grimace.

"Then why did you punch a wall, Tom Petty?"

"That's none of your business."

"I knew there was a reason why I love conversing with you," she gave him a very forced smile. "You're moving your wrist, so I'm assuming you didn't bust it, right?" He nodded once. "Stay here, I'm gonna bring something to disinfect it with and some bandage."

He was so stunned by the sudden act of kindness that he didn't move until she came back a moment later. Lorelai Gilmore the Second was being kind of nice to him. Maybe she was trying to get close and then kick him in the groin or something. Although, when he thought about it, in that dress, it would have been a stunt that no Gilmore was capable of, so he was safe in that department.

She grabbed his hand and touched it with a washcloth, making faces.

"So you're gonna tell Auntie Lorelai what happened?"

"Ah jeez!" he cried out and paused for a moment. Maybe it wasn't so stupid after all. "Only if you're gonna talk to me as Auntie Lorelai and not Rory's mother."

She looked at him carefully, weighing her options. "I can give it a go," she decided.

Jess hesitated for a while. "This girl kissed me and I freaked out," he said and watched as Lorelai's hands fell and she stared at him in shock. "You know what, forget it," he started but she shook her head out of her haze.

"No, no, no, wait! Was the girl pretty?"

"How is that important?" he asked with a frown.

"Just answer me," Lorelai prompted.

He sighed. "Yeah, she was."

"Then it's understandable, we all freak out sometimes when faced with people hotter than us."

"Thank you for the ego boost, not exactly what I was looking for though."

"Do you like the girl?" she inquired.

"No, I just caused myself bodily harm because it really didn't mean a thing to me," he answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Vague, but I'll take it... Go tell her," Lorelai said seriously, grabbing his hand again and starting to wrap it up with bandage.

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

"She kinda scares the hell out of me."

"You need to elaborate here, Mister."

He did, looking down at his shoes. "We're surprisingly good at hurting each other. And I don't want to do that anymore."

"Then don't."

"That easy?"

She nodded. "That easy."

"What does her mother think about it?"

"Her mother wants her to be happy and thinks you're not all that bad."

It brought a shadow of a smirk to his face. "You think me and her mother can call it a truce?"

"I suppose. Not an official one though because that would have to involve shaking on it and your hand is all bandaged and it would be like shaking a limb of a mummy."

"I can settle for an unofficial one."

"Good. Go, make things right, 'cause if the girl will be seen crying today, you won't escape the wrath of the mother and no truce will save you."

"Okay." They stepped away from each other and Lorelai started heading towards the guests when she heard Jess's voice call her again. "Question."

"To Auntie Lorelai or Rory's mother?"

"Just Lorelai Gilmore... Danes."

"Shoot... on second thought, I shouldn't have said that because you might take it literally," she added as an afterthought. "Or not, because of the... truce," she stammered. "What was it you wanted to ask me?"

"Aren't you concerned about the mental health of your horses?" Jess said with a smirk.

She smirked back at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Right. But if you tell anyone what I said or that I proposed a truce, the world will hear about your stable rendezvous in the middle of the day, with your parents within a 300 feet radius."

"And how are you going to get the world's attention drawn to such a little, casual affair?" Lorelai asked.

"I happen to know a journalist, she's been known to write outstanding pieces on repaving parking lots, I think she could make this big, too."

"Deal," Lorelai grinned widely and walked away.

* * *

Rory had to do something with herself and do it fast, before the floodgates opened and she started weeping. She couldn't cry, that would be unfair to Lorelai, and the last thing she wanted was to ruin her mother's wedding day. Actually, it wasn't exactly like that, the last thing she wanted was to ruin things with Jess. She wasn't sure who she was more mad at, herself for letting it go so far, or him for freaking out like that. She wanted to believe it was a freak out. She wanted to believe he didn't really mean it. He didn't, she saw in his eyes that he didn't, she just chose to ignore the longing she saw because it terrified her. But she just couldn't bear the tension between them anymore and the kiss just... happened. They had it coming for awhile anyway, and she knew it wasn't accidental because what she really wanted was to be with him.

And now it seemed like she couldn't.

For a moment she wondered whether it would be easier to remain only friends with him or to let him go and cut him out from her life completely. The thought made her feel like she'd been punched in the gut. That would mean no more phone calls, no hanging out, no Truncheon, no... nothing. Empty freaking mess of a Rory.

Wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, blessing the fact that she wore a waterproof mascara that day, she realised that she loved him too much to let him go just like that. The thought paralysed her body and made her jaw drop a little, because acknowledging fully that she loved him, even if it was only in hear head, felt as natural as drinking Luke's coffee. She had it every day and she knew it was great, but it was so natural for her that she only learned to appreciate it fully when she couldn't have it on a daily basis. For most of her life, she just took Luke's coffee for granted.

She had to act. But wasn't it too early? It made her think of Scarlett O'Hara and her '_I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all... tomorrow is another day.' _For a moment it seemed like a good option, but then she remembered how Scarlett's attitude annoyed her every time she watched the movie or read the book, and she refused to become Scarlett to Jess's Rhett. Something had to be done straight away or she would lose her last chance. It was now or nev-

"Rory!" she heard a voice from behind her back and she turned around and smiled bravely to her father.

"Hi, Dad," she said and hugged him quickly, not wanting him to see her face. "I didn't know you'd come."

"Yeah, well, I didn't decide until this morning but your mom and Luke invited me so I figured it would be rude not to," Christopher answered with a smile.

"Oh... have you talked to them yet?"

"No, they seem to have disappeared."

"Right... Dad," she said seriously. "If you do anything to spoil this day for Mom or Luke, as the daughter of the bride and the maid of honour, I swear, I will go after you and cause you severe physical pain regardless of being your daughter, too. They deserve a perfect wedding, okay?"

Christopher didn't know whether to feel offended or not, but something in Rory's face prevented him from fighting. "I know, kiddo," he said calmly. "Listen, I've had my shot with Lorelai, we couldn't make it work and I'm done trying. I'm happy for them. I will always love your mom but I know this is for the best, so don't worry about me causing any trouble, okay?"

As relieved as she was to hear that, her eyes widened because she couldn't comprehend her father's attitude. She'd read before how sometimes love is about letting go, freeing the other from pain that would come inevitably but at the moment it seemed completely insane to her. What she was feeling was too intense, too overwhelming for her entire being to let go. If she did, she wasn't sure if she could even exist on her own like that.

"Good. I'll see you around, Dad, I have something to do now." She kissed his cheek and walked away from him.

She couldn't see Jess anywhere among the other guests, not that it was surprising. She didn't particularly want to be with them at that moment either. She debated going to Luke's apartment to see if he's there but instead she made her way to her chair, took her cell phone out of her purse and stared at it for a while. Eventually she opened a new message.

She didn't get round to writing anything, because her grandmother approached her.

"Rory," she started, receiving a rather angry look from her granddaughter. "Did you go through the wedding plans with your mother and approve things?"

"Well, I advised, not approved, Gra-"

"The flower bouquet on this table is much larger than on that one," she pointed.

"I'm awfully sorry about this," Rory said, irritated. "I have to take care of something else right now, Grandma."

"The chairs? They keep falling into the sand, it's very dangerous," Emily said.

"Something else. Excuse me."

"Rory, do not-"

"Grandma, I have something to do!" she cried and stormed away, leaving Emily Gilmore dumbfounded.

As soon as she got away, her attention returned to her cell phone. She had to do this.

'_I'm sorry for taking you for granted. R'_

After a couple of seconds she got a confirmation that the text was delivered, and she started walking in no particular direction, just away from the cheerful crowd.

Her phone beeped and the initial excitement that he did respond gave way to fear. She hesitated before opening the message, afraid of further words of rejection and resentment, a '_Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn_'.

'_I'm sorry for running. J'_

She sighed deeply, thinking whether he meant running now or running six years ago but before she could make sense of it, another text came.

'_If between now and tomorrow afternoon you feel like you can talk to the idiot that I am, I'll be at the bridge (there's really nowhere else to go in this town). J'_

She walked in that direction slowly and carefully, as her high heels didn't make walking through the sandy path very easy. The air was heavy with the heat and she could barely breathe as it was, but when she saw him sitting in the middle of the bridge, his back hunched and head down, her throat constricted and her eyes began to sting again.

She walked over and stood above him, waiting for some form of acknowledgment of her presence.

He didn't make a single move and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "You know, kiss and run is my domain," she said, slightly bitterly.

"But I have dibs on running in general," Jess mumbled.

"Arguable."

"Yeah, well."

"What happened to your hand?" she asked quietly, noticing the bandage.

"Punched a wall," he answered, still not looking up.

She frowned. "Since when do you have rage issues?"

"I don't have rage issues, I have issues with you." It was just a statement but it came out more accusatory than he hoped it would. It irritated her which in turn made her spit things out.

"Jess, what we've built over all these months is too important to me to let us do something like this. So we need to talk about it. Tell me."

He took his time and the silence was filled with cheerful tweeting of some bird, which felt very inappropriate at the time. "You scare the hell out of me," Jess said finally. "...We... scare the hell out of me. How am I supposed to know that I can trust you with... all of this." He meant his heart but he dreaded the word, it felt incredibly cliché.

"Because!" she exclaimed like a child, tears shining in her eyes, threatening to slip out.

He scoffed. "Because what, Rory?"

Silence fell around them, even the bird stopped singing, as if sensing something big coming up.

"Because I love you."

He sat there, staring at her, with shock written all over his face. The time had stopped with her confession, and he spent God knows how long just sitting there, looking into her shining eyes and fighting the urge to cry himself because he just heard his first 'I love you' ever, in the present tense and it was from her, from the Rory Gilmore who was the most important person in his life for the past seven years, whether she was even there or not. He let himself blink slowly, and as he was afraid, when he opened his eyes again, she wasn't standing at the bridge in front of him anymore.

He did, however, hear a big splash of water and a second after he turned his head to look at the previously ideally still surface of Larson's Dock, he saw Rory emerge, dripping and gasping for air. She looked up at him briefly and brought her cast-covered elbow to cover her face.

Jess, in the meantime, let out a chuckle, then another one until he couldn't help it anymore and he burst out with hysterical laughter with which the tension of the past minutes, days, months and years even was being released, some huge weight he didn't even know was there lifted off his shoulders, or maybe his heart.

Still laughing, he jumped off the bridge and waded through the water towards her to gently pull her arm away and reveal her wet face. He noticed she was shaking.

"Rory? Are you laughing or crying?" he asked, traces of laughter still present in his voice, even though concern crept into his eyes. She continued to shake. "Both, I see," he nodded and scooped her dripping, quivering form into his arms. "Wanna tell me what just happened here?" He rested his cheek against her wet hair and grinned.

Rory let out a sob, cuddling into his chest, as close as she possibly could. "I just... my heel," she sobbed, "got stuck between," another sob, "the planks and I... just fell in," she finished sniffling. "Your pants will be ruined," she added.

This made him laugh again. "You tell me... what you told me before you fell in, and you expect me to worry about my pants?" She only nodded weakly against his shoulder. "You're crazy," he whispered right into her ear, his one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and the other running up and down her back. "And I love you."

She raised her watery-blue eyes at him, her face mirroring his earlier disbelief, her breathing still uneven. "Does this mean..." she trailed off.

"If you're-"

"Yeah," she said with a nod.

"Then yeah. But this has got to be-"

"Serious?" she finished for him.

"Exactly."

"It will work, Jess," she assured quietly.

His hand cupped her cheek and he smiled widely at her. "Let's see," he said before resting his forehead on hers, and both of them trembled in anticipation. When their eyes closed and their lips connected, slowly at first, only relishing in the fact that they could now make contact like this and there would be no running, it was time for it. Gradually the kiss became more demanding and gained intensity that they both forgot ever existed as their hands roamed around each other's bodies, desperately searching for something to hold on to.

They pulled away only because air was a necessity and they felt that their knees would give in if they didn't stop now.

"I told you," Jess grinned. "Now can we get out of the water? 'Cause I want to do that cheesy thing where you hang on my neck and I twirl you around but the water resistance is not letting me."

Rory laughed and buried her face in his shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing in the smell of his cologne, letting out a satisfied sigh. A moment later, his mouth was on her neck which sent her head reeling again, and she forced herself to open her eyes to regain some sort of self control. What she saw made her body tense up and pull away slightly.

"Jess, I need to tell you something, but you have to promise me you won't freak out," she said and offered him a smile to make that sudden frightened look on his face go away.

"What is it?" he asked worriedly.

"There's a swan behind you."

* * *

When they stopped running several feet from the edge of the lake, Rory dropped her high-heeled shoes from her hand onto the ground and doubled over, laughing. They looked over at the potentially vicious bird which seemingly lost interest and swam away.

"That," Rory managed to say, gasping for air, "was the funniest thing ever." She laughed more. "I can't believe you tried to negotiate with the swan."

"I had to buy us some time to escape! We had nothing to defend ourselves with!"

"Me falling into the water and you freaking out because of a swan, how beautiful," she grinned. "So I guess now we have to go and change into something dry."

"Or we could just stay here, it's so hot we should be dry soon anyway," Jess suggested.

"Well, I'm dripping and I'd rather change."

"Okay," he said and started taking his waistcoat off. "Here," he handed it to her.

She raised her brow questioningly. "I don't need your wet waistcoat."

He was about to say something but stopped himself and smirked, looking at Rory's soaked dress. "You're right, you don't need it."

First, she looked at him with confusion and then looked down and blushed immediately. "Oh my God, give it to me!" she exclaimed, reaching for the garment but he hid it behind his back.

"I thought you didn't want it," he teased.

"Pig!" He only looked at her expectantly. "Kiss in exchange for the waistcoat?" Rory proposed.

"Okay," he agreed and she obliged. "You wouldn't have kissed me otherwise?" he asked when she was wrapping the waistcoat tightly around herself.

"Hmm," she furrowed her brow playfully and pecked him on the lips. "Everyone should be moving to the town square for the second part of the celebrations soon, I'll see you there?"

"You bet," he said, tucking her wet hair behind her ear.

"Hey, do you happen to know what to do with a wet cast?"

"Probably go to the hospital and get a new one?"

"I don't have time for that. I'll try to dry it so I might take a while but I'll see you soon," she smiled at him and turned to walk away. Jess looked after her for a moment, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning and finally walked in the direction of Luke's.

* * *

When Rory got to the town square in the yellow dress she wore in the morning, fresh make up and still slightly damp hair, it was full of the wedding guests and people of Stars Hollow.

"Rory!" Lorelai called after her immediately and the daughter ran straight into her mother's arms. "Whoa, babe, where were you, we're waiting for you and Jess to make the toasts," she said in a normal volume and then switched to whisper. "Were you with Jess?" Rory nodded, still holding Lorelai. "So is this a happy hug or a 'mommy-kill-him-for-me' hug?"

Rory pulled away, beaming. "Very happy hug."

"You're together now?"

"Yes."

"Together-together?"

"What do you mean?" Rory frowned.

"I mean did you-"

"Mom! There were kisses, that's all. ...and..."

"And?" Lorelai eyed her carefully.

"And 'I love you's'," Rory answered with a shy smile playing on her lips.

"Oh, kid," Lorelai smiled softly and hugged her daughter again. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Mom. And I'm happy for you."

"Why are you wearing a different dress, by the way?"

"There was water involved," Rory admitted.

"Do I want to know?"

"I will tell you later. Did you see Jess around here?"

"There," Lorelai motioned. "Talking to Luke. Get him on that stage and make those toasts."

* * *

"You're smiling, what's wrong?" the groom addressed his nephew.

"Very logical thing to say, Luke," Jess answered, avoiding his uncle's questioning gaze.

"Something happened," Luke stated.

"Something did."

"Did you-" Luke glanced at Jess as he looked up, clearly blushing. "You did!" the uncle cried out with a chuckle, then lowered the volume of his voice. "You're with Rory!"

"I guess," Jess shrugged, trying to seem careless.

"Sure took you long en-"

"Hey! Hi Luke," Rory said, appearing next to them and taking Jess's hand. It sort of happened naturally. Jess looked down at their interlocked fingers. "Oh... Luke-" Rory started.

"He knows," Jess interrupted her.

"Oh, okay," she smiled. "I hate to cut your guy-talk short but we have to get on the stage and make the speeches."

"Okay," Jess answered simply.

"Good," she said and frowned, looking at him carefully. "Are you blushing?"

"Nope."

"Yes, he is," Luke chimed in, grinning.

"Aww," Rory cooed.

"Stop!"

"I can't, it's too cute!" she said and kissed his cheek. "Now come on."

* * *

"Hi, everyone," Rory started, "thank you, again, for coming. I'm extremely happy to be celebrating this occasion today, not only because my dearest mother got married but also because those two people, my mom and Luke, deserve this more than anyone I know. I think we all agree that they make us see what love really is and what it means to be together... I like to believe there's no end to what they have because their love is based on trust and deep friendship. Mom, Luke, you are my ultimate heroes, I love you and I wish you all the best in the married life," she smiled at the happy couple and raised her glass. "To the bride and the groom!"

She took a step back and gave Jess a smile of encouragement, trying to keep from laughing at his glass filled with grape juice.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he murmured and then spoke up. "I find it hilarious how everyone knew that you two belong together before you acknowledged it yourselves. Lorelai, I think you can testify that what took the two of you eight years to see, even I figured out within a day I first came to this town. Which is to say that the two of you are blind. May you grow even blinder and more stubborn together. Cheers!"

The crowd applauded enthusiastically but before Rory and Jess escaped the curious eyes of the guests, someone's voice inquired whether they are together. Rory looked into Jess's eyes questioningly and he shrugged, giving her permission to decide whether to tell the town already.

"Yes, we are," she said quickly and grabbing the sleeve of his shirt, she hurried off the stage. Before they even descended the stairs, Emily Gilmore was next to them.

"Rory! I thought you came here with Jematt."

"Jematt?" Jess asked with amusement.

"I created him by accident," Rory explained, lowering her voice. "Grandma, that was a misunderstanding. It doesn't matter who I did or didn't come with, I'm with Jess now," she said confidently and reassuringly squeezed his hand.

"Oh, will you ever learn to pick men who are good for you?" Emily asked with a mixture of outrage and disgust on her face.

"Grandma, will you ever-" Rory started but Kirk's voice coming through the microphone interrupted her.

"The bride's parents are asked to come to the huppah to pose for pictures with the newlyweds!"

"We will talk about this later, young lady," Emily decided and turned away but something else came to her mind and she faced the couple again. "And don't you dare seduce her!" she pointed her finger at Jess and walked away.

* * *

"Mom just accused us of stealing their spotlight," Rory said as she approached Jess who was sitting at a table. He caught her wrist and pulled her onto his lap, catching her off guard. "Whoa," she exclaimed but his lips on hers prevented her from saying anything else.

"Hi," he said when they pulled away.

"Hi," she repeated with a smile.

"Seems like we have our very own word," he quipped.

"I like it."

"Yeah. Good word. Very reflective of our limited vocabulary in general."

She laughed and leaned against him. "You're people-watching?"

"Yup. TJ is dancing with Doula in his arms, poor kid. Did you hear the rumours that Taylor's gonna be singing?"

"No!" Rory answered, amused.

"Catch up, Gilmore. The whole place is buzzing from the news."

"I never knew there was actually a person who could make him do that," she mused.

"What I have heard involved the words 'Patty' and 'favours'," he said, flinching.

"Say no more." Her gaze drifted off to the dance floor, and she stared mindlessly at the swaying couples before her eyes returned to Jess. "Wanna dance?" she asked.

"Oh, no," he shook his head.

"Please, Jess?"

"I don't dance."

She hesitated for a moment and finally stood up, a mischievous sparkle in her eye. "Fine. You don't want to dance with me? I dare you to dance with someone else, from outside the family, and that includes Harriet."

"You're kidding me!"

"Nope, I'm very serious. Find someone to dance with. It can be Lulu, she's nice, or it can be Patty, then it's guaranteed that your butt will get pinched. I don't care, I want to see you dance with someone."

"Rory!"

"No whining, it's a dare!"

"I have to re-evaluate whether I like it when you're bossy," he muttered, glaring at her playfully.

His eyes wondered around, dismissing every single female that wasn't already in someone else's arms until he finally noticed a person who wasn't quite as bad as most of the Stars Hollow folk. He approached her slowly, bracing himself for being ridiculed.

"Hey, Gypsy," he greeted her with a smirk.

She returned it. "Jess."

"Wanna dance?" he offered casually, thinking of some way to punish Rory for this.

"I see you've lost it in your old age," Gypsy said, putting salad on her plate.

"What?"

"Your practical jokes used to be funny, this is just cheap."

"But this isn't a joke."

"Tough luck, I don't dance," Gypsy said firmly.

"Neither do I," Jess said with a smirk.

"Then why are you asking me to dance?"

"Hello, Jess honey," Patty smiled sweetly approaching them. "I hear you are very insecure about your dancing... you know, I'd be happy to give you a lesson right now."

"He's dancing with me," Gypsy snapped, grabbing his hand and glaring at the other woman.

Patty seemed slightly taken aback. "Oh, okay," she said and stepped away.

"What was that about?" Jess asked, awkwardly putting his hand high up on Gypsy's back.

"I'd tell you but I'm not one to gossip in this town. So what do you drive these days? Same old piece of junk?"

"Nope, got a new one. Hyundai Accent coupe, 1996," he answered.

"1.5 or 1.6?"

"1.5."

"Not too bad," she nodded approvingly.

"It will do until I can afford something better."

"And what will that be?"

"Are we talking realistically or not?"

"Let's not."

"Audi TTS?"

"Thing of beauty, isn't it?" Gypsy asked and he nodded. "Small though."

"I don't mind."

"Thank goodness, the song's finished."

"Well, nice to... dance with you, Gypsy," he said awkwardly.

"Bring that car of yours around some time, I'll look at it for you, those mechanics in the city rarely know what they are doing."

"Totally," he laughed and turned around to be faced with breathless Rory.

"Guess that just happened to me!" she managed to say.

"I wouldn't dare, the craziness of this town outgrows my level of creativity.".

"TJ asked me to dance. He also said that now that we're related, he will draw my portrait on his etch-a-sketch for free. I'm related to TJ!"

"I can sympathise," he smirked. "Did you dance with him?"

"For half of the song, yes, and the whole time I was looking around for you but I couldn't see you!"

"Well, I was dancing too."

"With who?"

"Gypsy."

Rory giggled. "I can't believe I missed it... I think I'm scarred by that dance."

"You need a hug?" Jess asked mockingly.

"Yes, please," she answered with a small smile and cuddled into his chest as they started swaying together slowly. "This might actually have the power to erase the previous experience from my memory," she said and sighed contentedly.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Lane said into the onstage microphone. "We have a very special treat for you tonight, as Hep Alien will be joined by Miss Patty, Babette, Morey, Taylor, Kirk and TJ for a song specifically chosen for the newlyweds by Kirk... It's Van Halen's _Not Enough_!" She returned to her drum set and TJ ran onto the stage, followed by Kirk who attempted to look professional, Taylor who certainly didn't want to be there and the ladies who seemed to be in their element. As they all settled, after having coughed, argued and tapped on the microphones to check if they work properly, Zach did a countdown and Morey masterfully hit the keys of the piano. After a moment, TJ joined in with the first vocal, followed by the others, Babette and Parry singing the chorus parts.

_To love somebody secretly  
And never touch  
To love somebody honestly  
And always trust  
To love somebody tenderly  
The tender touch  
Is not enough_

The initial reaction of the audience was to laugh hysterically because the performance was truly comical. But there was something very pure and heart-felt in it and as soon as Gil began the guitar solo, they all got lost in the music and started swaying to the rhythm.

_And if it don't come easily  
One thing you must believe  
You can always have trust in me  
Because my heart will always be  
Yours honestly_

Zach delivered his verse powerfully and by the end of it, Lorelai's eyes were wet. She looked up to her husband and cupped his cheek.

"Perfect day, isn't it?" she said, her voice slightly choked.

"Yeah."

"And they seem really happy," she motioned at Rory and Jess.

"They do. But... since when do you approve of Jess?"

"I do not approve of him!" she faked outrage.

Luke chuckled and drew her closer. "I love you, crazy lady."

"The feeling is mutual, Lucas," she said and kissed him.

_Love hurts sometimes  
Not yours, it's not mine, no  
Love's only to share  
Turn and swear  
It's everywhere  
Standing there  
'Cause it's always been there_

When the group onstage was finishing the song, everybody singing together, Rory was grinning widely and leaning against Jess whose arms were wrapped tightly around her waist. She lifted her head to look at him.

"I've missed you."

He only kissed her temple and pulled her even closer.

* * *

Around 1.30 a.m. they were standing on the front porch of the Crap Shack, kissing heatedly. The newlyweds were staying in the honeymoon suite in the Dragonfly for the night so the house was empty and dark and Babette and Morey were still in the town square, so there was no real threat of being seen.

As Jess nibbled on Rory's ear, her hands, without a consultation with her brain, which was not working at its best at the moment anyway, undid the two top buttons of his shirt, which was made rather difficult by the limited range of movements of her right arm.

"Jesus, Ror," he whispered, running his hands down her sides. "Don't undress me in front of your house."

She let out a silly giggle and asked, "You want to come in?"

He almost jumped away from her. "No," he answered hastily but corrected himself when he saw her deflated expression. "I mean... you have a broken arm," he said but it didn't sound entirely convincing to her.

"I realise, but I can see that's not what it's about," she looked at him questioningly. "It's not about my grandmother, is it?" she asked, making him laugh. "Too soon?"

"Yeah... amongst other things," he admitted.

"Like what?" she asked, worriedly.

"Not important."

"Tell me," she insisted.

"I kind of made a promise that I wouldn't... sleep with you straight away."

"To whom?"

He looked down at his shoes. "Myself," he murmured uncertainly.

A small smile emerged on Rory's lips. "And when was that?"

"I can tell you where. At some point between my car and your dorm room at Yale," he said quietly.

Rory's jaw fell genuinely open as she tried to process what he just told her. "So you're saying... that when you came and asked me to run away with you... if we somehow ended up coming close to it, you wouldn't have?"

He shrugged. "That was the resolution, I don't know how it would have worked in practice."

"You never cease to surprise me, Jess Mariano," she said and kissed the corner of his mouth. "We'll wait, then."

"Only until your cast is off," he smirked at her devilishly.

She shook her head to hide her own grin. "Go, I'll see you later on today." She didn't want to explain to him that a guy who was willing to wait was a hundred times more attractive than one who would just give the hormones speak for him, so she needed him to leave before she had her way with him.

"Goodnight, Rory."

They shared one more kiss and she went into the house. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she leaned against it and grinned wildly into the darkness.

* * *

It was past 3 a.m. and Rory lay in her childhood bed, her covers only partially over her, and sleep absent. She was looking at the ceiling and smiling while replaying the events of the day. She experienced so many feelings over the last twelve hours or so. There was tension and longing, there was relief, happiness, pain and sadness, embarrassment, excitement and ecstasy. There were all the people she loved, some that annoyed her, some that amused her to tears and that one person that she couldn't get enough of. The word 'ever' crossed her mind.

She clumsily got up from her bed, reached for her old Yale sweatshirt and pulled it onto her pyjamas. After she put on her sneakers, she stepped into the kitchen, took a key from a blue flower pot in white spots and stepped out of the back door of the house.

She walked through the now deserted streets of Stars Hollow, relishing in the coolness of the night after the unbearable heat of the day, beaming into the darkness surrounding her. She couldn't help it, even if there was a threat of her face just staying that way.

She opened the door of Luke's diner with her key, and trying her best to be very quiet, she climbed up the stairs to the apartment. She opened the door gently and stepped through the semi-darkness towards Jess's bed to discover him with his eyes wide open, eyebrow raised and smirking.

"April asleep?" she whispered, turning to look at the other bed.

"Yup. How did you get in here?"

"Took my mom's key. How come you didn't think it was a burglary and attack me with a chair?"

"Why, did you come looking for the secret stashes of Luke's coffee?"

She smiled to him. "Scoot over?"

"You do realise there's a person in the room, fifteen year old to that?" he asked while moving to the side of the bed.

"It's April, if she comments it will probably be about how unhealthy sharing a bed is for our backbones. And besides, I'm wearing very decent pyjamas," she said, lying down next to him.

"I can see that," he leaned over to get a closer look at her pants. "With sushi," he laughed.

"Sh!" she stifled her own chuckle. "You're gonna wake her up." They fell silent while she wrapped her arm around his torso and his fingers started gently caressing her shoulder.

Jess broke the silence hesitantly. "You know, I always laughed at Luke for taking eight years to get together with your mom and now it blows up in my face 'cause we're not much better."

"We needed those seven years," Rory whispered. "It's just funny that we got together on the day when we officially became relatives," she smiled teasingly.

"Oh jeez. I should probably ask you to get out of my bed, cousin."

"Step," she corrected. "And it's no big deal in my family, it's kind of a tradition to marry a cousin, actually," she said casually and Jess shot her a rather disturbed look. "I know," she continued, "it creeped me out when I found out, too, but my great-grandparents were second cousins."

"Huh. That explains why your eyes are so inhumanly blue."

"What? Oh! Oh my-"

"Shhh, April's asleep, remember?" he told her with a slight chuckle. "And I love your eyes, Miss Gilmore... 'Those dark blue eyes command the inmost soul'," he whispered right into her ear, making her shiver.

"Keats?"

"Joanna Baillie. Get a clue or I won't be able to go out with you in public," he joked.

"Remind me to mock you about quoting poetry tomorrow."

"That's a play. _Count Basil: A Tragedy_."

Rory propped herself up on her elbow and gave him a slow, sensual kiss.

"What was that for?" Jess inquired with his eyebrow raised.

"For being you."

"Well, be careful with kissing me like that because you might accidentally find yourself without your sushi pyjamas on."

"Are you trying to flirt with me, Mr. Mariano?" she asked and yawned.

"Maybe," he grinned in response.

"You have barely flirted with me for the last six months and you start now?"

"That's because I knew that if I'd switch my charm on you wouldn't be able to resist and you'd throw yourself at me... Oh wait, you did that anyway," he teased.

"Jerk," she mumbled sleepily.

"Jerk's girlfriend."

She lifted up her head and gave him a grin, a peck on the lips and then let her head fall on the bed, right next to his neck again.

"Night, Jess."

"Goodnight," he said kissing her temple and tightening his grip on her.

* * *

**A/N: Ta-da! This was so much fun to write, so I hope you enjoyed reading it too, and... please review, it really means a lot! Also, take a look at my profile, I linked a drool-worthy picture of Milo wearing Jess's wedding attire described in the previous chapter ;) Oh, and this story is NOT finished. **


	14. The New Ways

A/N: Hello and welcome to Flufffest. I really hope you can stand it. It feels like this fic is now entering a new era so I'm taking this opportunity to thank you for all your lovely reviews! they rock my world!

Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm tired of saying this *yawn*

* * *

When Rory woke up around 10 o'clock, the air was already pulsating with heat. Attempting to roll over to her side, she felt an arm lying loosely over her waist. It came as a bit of a shock at first, it had been quite a while since she last slept with someone in one bed. A single bed, to that. When she turned her head, she smiled seeing Jess still sound asleep.

Butterflies immediately attacked her stomach and memories of the previous day flashed through her mind. When she was finished replaying every single kiss, look and word in her mind, her thoughts wandered off to something that Paris said to her. About never seeing her so crazy about a guy. Now, lying next to Jess's sleeping form, she was strongly inclined to agree that she never ever felt like this before. She had loved and she had been in love but this felt like some perfect combination of the two that shouldn't even exist in the imperfect world. Maybe it was early to think like that, maybe she was just drunk on the wonderfulness of the previous day. But she couldn't help but think that this was the second time she was starting a relationship with him and both times at this early stage she was already in love with him. Drawing a parallel to Luke and her mother was unavoidable.

She had never seen him asleep before and this was like getting to know a completely new Jess. She gently brushed his hair off his forehead to get a better look. No smirk, no characteristically raised brow, nothing that would indicate his normal cynicism. The previous night he was different than normally, too. He seemed uncharacteristically content with things, he even wore a grin on his face for a lot of the time and it made her crazily happy, knowing that she was the cause of that.

She studied his face curiously and he must have sensed her intense gaze because he stirred and grunted sleepily, outstretching his arms. Then he froze for a second, seemingly surprised at something heavy pinning his arm down and Rory placed a kiss on his arm, right where the sleeve of his T-shirt ended. A small smile emerged on his lips even before his eyes opened, making Rory grin.

"Morning," Jess mumbled.

"Hey."

They lay in silence for a while, savouring the peacefulness of the scene.

"How did you sleep?" he asked eventually.

"Good. You?"

"Same."

Rory sighed and with her cast-covered arm, she reached for his bandaged hand.

"Look, we're a couple of crippled kids."

"Very crippled," he agreed with a smirk.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really," he answered distractedly and paused for a moment. "Hey, my waistcoat is still at your house, right?"

"Yeah, I left it there to dry. Why?"

"No reason," he dismissed it while in fact he was getting concerned that Harriet's note may have been ruined.

"We probably should get up," Rory said.

"Don't wanna."

"Neither do I," Rory agreed, sitting up.

"Then why are you?"

"Because it's getting late and we have to be ready for lunch with everyone at the Inn."

"Right, family gathering," Jess said, grimacing.

"Come on, it'll be fun. And Sookie is making lobster to redeem herself for not putting it on the menu yesterday."

"And that's supposed to encourage me to come, how?"

"You don't need any encouragement, you're coming anyway," Rory smiled cheekily and got up from the bed. Her eyes landed on a note that lay on the kitchen table.

_Morning, Lovebirds! You are nauseously cute together. I'm supposed to tell you that family lunch (that will probably be more of a breakfast for the people whose last name isn't Gilmore) has been moved to 12:30 sharp. Come down for a coffee beforehand, I'm taking advantage of Dad's absence and making mocha. – April_

Rory smiled and passed the piece of paper to Jess.

"Well, I'm a Gilmore and I need breakfast... Oh my God!" Rory exclaimed, suddenly going pale.

"What?" Jess asked cautiously.

"I came here in my pyjamas!"

"I realise that," he said with confusion but then grasped her worry. "... oh."

"Exactly! It was okay in the middle of the night but now? I can't step out of the apartment!"

"Rory, relax. I'll go and bring you some clothes," he chuckled.

"You will?" she asked.

"It would be entertaining to see you walk in your pj's around town in the middle of the day but I'm not gonna risk your wrath now. Just tell me where I should look," he said with a nod.

"My room, most of my stuff is in my suitcase," Rory sighed. "I'll need... my purple dress, it's on a hanger on the door... Or not! Navy blue skirt and... and my dark pink blouse, it's all in the suitcase. And then shoes... shoes... blue flats! I can't bear to wear heels for another day. They should be next to the front door. Did I mention that I adore you for doing this?"

Jess just stood in front of her, looking at her with amusement. "No underwear today?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Oh." Her face flushed instantly and she looked away. "It's in the side pocket of the suitcase. Just bring whatever you find first."

"Okay. Give me three minutes to get dressed and I'll go," he said, kissed her on the cheek and moved to gather some of his clothes and disappear in the bathroom.

Rory, like a true Gilmore that she was, stepped towards the fridge. Due to the fact that the apartment wasn't permanently occupied by anyone, it was almost empty. She took out some cheese she found as well as a big bottle of water.

"You want me to get some food?" Jess asked, exiting the bathroom.

"I'll take care of it."

"Alright. Navy blue skirt, dark pink blouse, blue shoes and whatever underwear," he checked.

"Correct. And your waistcoat is on the chair next to my desk."

"Give me twenty minutes," he said and left the apartment.

Rory smiled and picked up the phone, dialling a familiar number.

"Hi April, it's Rory... Good... Yes, I'm upstairs... Do you think I could make an order with a delivery, I can' exactly come down right now... Great. Two plates of blueberry pancakes with syrup and whipped cream... Yes... Pie... Peach sounds great. And two cups of your mocha... Fifteen minutes is perfect, thanks."

* * *

Truth be told, he was glad to have an excuse to get out of the apartment, away from Rory for a moment just to get his bearings straight. With her around, her hair tousled from sleep, marks from the pillow on her face and her sushi pyjamas, it wasn't possible.

Especially since he still hadn't had a chance to process that this was real, that it was really happening. Everything that followed his freak-out the previous day was so perfect it seemed like there had to be a catch there, somewhere. Jess Mariano and 'deliriously happy' just didn't go together. Maybe he gave in too easily to her confession of love. Maybe he still couldn't give her what she needed.

Those dark thoughts, however, were quickly replaced by some newly found optimism. This would work. She said so, and he would do his damn best to make it work, too.

As he entered the Gilmore house with the key from the turtle, he made his way to Rory's room. Much didn't change in there since they were in high school, but he could sense that she didn't live there anymore. He approached the opened suitcase, easily found a navy blue skirt, picked up something dark pink but it turned out to be a sweater so he searched further until he found the requested blouse. That was the easy part. When he put his hand into the side pocket and pulled out a random item, however, he dropped it and landed on his butt on the carpet. He wondered if she knew how much of a tease she was, which was ironic since it was essentially him that said 'no' to taking things further the night before. Now he was willing to claim temporary insanity. He got up, snatched his waistcoat and glared at the suitcase as if he was afraid it would bite him. Gaining composure and directing his thoughts towards world peace, he approached the luggage again and struck by a brilliant idea, he rummaged through the side pocket picking the most mismatched underwear possible. Then he hurriedly left the room, putting all the stuff in a plastic bag.

He was already in front of the diner when something occurred to him and he turned and went in to Doose's.

* * *

"Aw, you got me a toothbrush!"

Jess stubbornly dismissed her gushing. "I'm not even going to comment on the amount of food you got even though we're having lunch in less than two hours," he said and offered her the bag with her clothes.

She peeked into it. "Thank you, thank you, thank... apparently you took my request to take whatever underwear you find first very seriously," she grinned, looking at a white lacy bra and green and black cotton panties with ducks on them. "Thanks," she said taking his face in her hands and giving him a quick kiss. "I'm now going to make use of this wonderful gift you got me."

"But food tastes terrible right after brushing your teeth!" he called after her as she went to the bathroom.

She didn't answer and he moved to make the bed to make it look just more or less neat.

When Rory emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, she found him sitting at the table, studying a piece of paper.

She smiled at him brightly and took a seat opposite him, reaching for her coffee.

"What's that?" Rory asked, looking at the paper in his hands.

"Harriet wrote me a note yesterday but it as in the water with us," he answered with a smirk, still looking down at the note. "I can only make out the very beginning and the ending."

"And you have no idea what it's about?"

"No, I have an idea," he said and passed it to her.

"Let's see," Rory took a bite of her pancake, then eyed the smudged note and giggled. "That first part does end in a very indefinite manner."

"There were two more lines that got blurred."

Rory read the clear part aloud. "'_Jess, you are SO getting', _smear and '_just wait for my I Told You So! –Harriet'_. Do you think it said what I think it did?"

"Hammered?"

"No."

"Banned from town by the Cardigan Man?" he teased, observing a slow blush spreading across Rory's face.

"No."

"Lucky?"

"Or the other 'L' word that means basically the same," she murmured.

He smirked at her obvious discomfort. He loved that about her, that one moment she could be inviting him into the house with very clear intentions, and next she could be blushing at the mention of it. "It didn't say that," he assured her.

The certainty with which he said it surprised her. "How do you know?"

"She would have written 'Jessica' instead of 'Jess'," he said and Rory looked at him with a sceptical frown. "Jess is for serious stuff, Jessica is for when she's making fun of me," he explained.

"So you're going to keep me guessing?" she asked with a pout. "You said you have an idea."

"I lied."

"No, you didn't."

"Look, we'll just ask her about it later," he dismissed.

"And you'll tell me even if it's embarrassing for you?"

"Nope, I'll come up with today's equivalent of getting a black eye from a football." Noticing Rory's outraged expression, he relented. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. The truth."

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Rory moved her chair around the table until she was sitting right next to him while he took a sip of his coffee and watched her with amusement, hiding his smile behind the cup.

"You're annoying," she said and kissed him on the cheek.

"I always enjoy an eloquent compliment," he replied with a smirk.

"That's it, exactly. Infuriating!"

"You can always shut me up."

"Oh, but I wouldn't know how," she said theatrically.

"I can give you pointers. Just this once," he said in a low voice and leaned in to kiss her. One of her hands entwined with his, the other tangled in his hair and she finally kissed him like she was meaning to since the moment she woke up and saw him sleeping next to her.

"I'll try to remember this method," Rory mumbled against Jess's lips.

"You better," he said, pulling away slowly.

Rory opened her eyes and finding herself in his lap, she looked around the room with confusion. "You just worked one of your magic tricks on me, didn't you? I swear I was sitting there," she pointed at the chair nearby.

"I'm just trying out my material before taking it on the road," he replied amusedly.

Rory furrowed her brow. "For once you're being open to ideas for your future. We need to get you a hat."

"A hat?"

"You need a hat if you want to be convincing," Rory stated mockingly.

"Sure," Jess snickered. "Do I need the white gloves and the moustache, too?"

"No," she laughed. "I don't know if I could love you with the 'tache." She stopped laughing when she noticed an unreadable expression on his face. "Hey," she started uncertainly, "are you uncomfortable with me saying that? I know it's kind of weird to start a relationship from an 'I love you' unless you're Emma and Mr. Knightley, or you live in pretty much any of Jane Austin's novels actually but I... really needed... wanted to tell you that yesterday and I want you to know that I meant it even if it seemed a bit out of the blue and-"

"Rory, you're babbling," he interrupted, looking at her warmly. "I said it back, didn't I? I'm just... new at this and I'm still getting used to the idea."

"Okay," Rory agreed weakly. "But if you think we should back up a little and take it slower-"

"Hey," he stopped her fidgeting, catching her wrists in his hands. "I love you. I've known that for years. I can deal with it." He paused. "Besides, the last two months almost felt like we were in a relationship anyway, without the physical part."

"You really felt like that?" she asked softly.

Jess shrugged and cocked his brow, slightly nervous. "Is there anyone else you call in the middle of the night just to chat?"

Rory thought about it for a second and eventually shook her head. "No."

He visibly relaxed. "Well, there's no one else who gets away with calling me at 2 a.m. and interrupting my staring-at-a-blank-page sessions unless it really is an emergency, you know?"

She nodded and hugged him tightly, swallowing her tears. This was so amazing it hurt, she was afraid she would burst and scatter into little pieces. She didn't really know what to do with that, how to find an outlet for her happiness . So she only held him as close as humanly possible and told him again. "I love you, too. And that was the perfect thing to say, by the way."

"Thanks, I guess," he smirked and drew her away to look her in the eye. "Are you going to tear up every time I tell you I love you?" he teased to lighten up the mood.

"We'll see," she gave him a small smile and kissed him.

When they pulled away a few moments later, Rory sat back in her chair and they returned to eating in comfortable silence.

"Okay, there's this thing that needs mentioning," Jess said. "You agreed to come to Philly for Nora and Josh's party on Friday."

"I did. Why, are you uninviting me?" she asked, grinning.

"No, I'm just checking if you're still coming."

"I don't think it's necessary. Before, I was thinking that it might be a good moment to get together with you, but now that it's done..." she teased and he shook his head, smiling.

"... and you've got me, so you don't need to see me anymore, right?" he joked.

"How does Wednesday sound?"

"My favourite day of the week."

"Good. I'll hang around here for a little longer and I'll come on Wednesday. Then on Monday morning I'll have to leave to catch my flight to Chicago from JFK. Is that okay?"

"Very... I should probably inform you though that as of late Mel is staying in Matt's old room so you'll have to share a room and a bed with someone."

She bit back a wide smile that was forcing its way onto her face and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Oh, I'm sure Chris won't mind," she said as casually as possible. Jess only shook his head in amusement.

* * *

"So, Lorelai, how come your parents aren't joining us for lunch?" Jackson asked good-naturedly during the meal, not noticing the glare that Sookie was shooting him.

"Oh, they went back to Hartford last night."

"Didn't they want to stay at the Inn for the night?"

"Jackson, honey, I was spending my wedding night at this establishment, don't blame me for not protesting when they offered to go home last night."

"Sookie, the duck rocks," Zach stated.

"Aw, thank you honey. How is the lobster, everyone?"

"Delicious," a couple of voices agreed at the same time.

"It's a really... interesting creature," TJ added, curiously rummaging through his plate. "Does is walk backwards like crayfish?"

"I think it's sideways, TJ," Luke chimed in.

"Steve!" Lane exclaimed, catching her son's hand. "Put the fork down! You are going to jab Kwan's eye out, baby. Put it down," she persuaded calmly but firmly.

"Nah!" the boy exclaimed, waving his arm.

"Stephen Angus Van Gerbig, put the fork down or I will hide _The Doors_ and there won't be any more _Alabama Song _for you."

The child broke into tears and Jess winced at the painful sound. A few seconds later he felt a pat on his thigh and, surprised, he turned towards Rory, only to see that she was using both of her hands to eat. When he looked down, he was met with the big brown eyes of his half-sister. He ignored her.

"Jess, is Doula there?" Liz asked, leaning out of her chair.

"Yup."

The little girl patted his leg again. Then she pulled on his trousers.

"Hey, kid, what do you want?" he inquired finally.

"O-ccoli."

"What?"

"O-ccoli," Doula repeated, one hand pointing to the table, the other one still puling at his trousers.

Jess frowned and ruffled her locks, hoping to distract her. When the cheap trick didn't work and she started jumping up, he nervously extended his arms and picked her up from the floor to put her in his lap.

"O-ccoli!" the girl pointed enthusiastically at a dish that stood close to Jess's plate.

"Oh, that," he raised his brow. "Go to... mom, she'll give you some."

"O-ccoli's 'ere!" Doula protested.

"Alright, then. But say 'broccoli'," he requested, oblivious to the fact that his interaction with his sister was being watched by every female at the table.

"Bo-ccoli."

"Fine," he gave up and put some broccoli onto the plate in front of him. Doula grabbed it and started munching on it hungrily. Jess shifted uncomfortably, unsure what to do with his hands whilst serving as a seat to a two-and-a-half year old. Harriet sneakily reached for her camera and took a picture. Lane shot Rory a smug, knowing smile and Rory hid her own one behind her glass of water.

* * *

"Rory, what is the hoodlum doing here, we asked to speak to you and April in private," Lorelai started half-jokingly as the newlyweds, their daughters and Jess gathered in the dining room in the Inn after the rest of the lunch guests left.

A warning "Mom" and "Lorelai" was said at the same time.

"You two might want to stop... holding hands and stand separately when we tell you this," Lorelai said, motioning at the younger couple who exchanged a confused look but didn't let go. "Suit yourselves," the bride muttered under her breath and squeezed Luke's hand herself. "My dearest husband and I have something to tell you." She shot Luke an expectant look but it only got him flustered.

"Um, right, we do."

"Thank you for your input, honey. So, we have talked last night-"

"Huh," Jess chimed in impudently, looking straight in Lorelai's eyes.

"Jess, do not interrupt me or I will ask you to leave," Lorelai threatened.

"I can't leave, she's holding on to me," Jess deadpanned, lifting his hand, interlocked with Rory's and gaining a grin from her and a glare from Lorelai. "Right, sorry, continue."

"Luke and I have been thinking about this before and we talked last night and we agreed," she trailed off. "Luke?"

"We... agreed to try for a baby. If it's okay with you," he motioned at the girls with an emerging smile.

April immediately threw herself to hug her father, Rory tightly embraced Lorelai while jumping, squeaking and expressing their happiness for their parents. Jess observed the scene with a smirk on his lips.

"Great, me and Rory get together and you immediately decide to make a person who will be related to both of us."

"That's your problem, not ours," Lorelai answered with a smirk of her own.

"Hey, no arguments here!" Rory chimed in, taking Jess's hand again.

"You know," he addressed her, ignoring all the others in the room, "maybe we should have stopped the wedding yesterday."

"On what grounds?" Luke asked with a frown.

Jess opened his mouth but Rory cut in. "Well, we were together first."

"Et tu, Brute?" Lorelai exclaimed, looking at her daughter.

"Of course," she said, smiling at Jess.

"Our family is the weirdest one I know," April stated with a sigh.

"Honey, we are aspiring to the _Married... With Children_ level."

"Jeez," Luke muttered, rolling his eyes. "Lorelai, I told you we should have only left them a note."

"Sure," she nodded. _"Dear Kids, we're off to get pregnant, wish us luck, love you, Mommy and Daddy."_

"Mom, you're scaring April."

"It's okay," the girl assured. "I think wishing you good luck would be slightly inappropriate, but I'm happy for you."

"Me too," Rory agreed and shot her boyfriend a questioning look. "And Jess is so happy he can't even express it," she said, smiling teasingly.

"We'll settle for that. Okay, does anyone have a gavel?" Lorelai asked and looked around the room.

"What do you need a gavel for?" her husband questioned.

"To dismiss the family meeting, duh!"

"A gavel is very Taylor," Luke protested.

"Or very Paris," Rory added.

"Who cares, I'm newly married, let me have a gavel!"

Luke looked around the room and grabbed a spoon from the table. "Here, you can bang the spoon."

"Lucas!" she exclaimed in her 'dirty!' tone and hit the table with the spoon. "Meeting adjourned! Ha, I always wanted to do that. Go, let's finish the packing, people!"

As soon as they all moved, Lorelai caught Jess's elbow and stopped him. "You stay," she ordered in a whisper. He only raised an eyebrow at her. "Good job pretending that there is no truce."

"It was pretty easy," he smirked in response.

"Okay. Now. I know that Rory is going to stay with you in Philadelphia this week so I just want to tell you that I asked Harriet to keep an eye on the two of you. Don't do anything I would. Which probably leaves you sitting on separate seats, reading, something I actually approve of. Understood?" She didn't wait for his confirmation and became more serious. "Take good care of her, Jess," she finished.

He kept up the eye-contact. "You are surprisingly nice to me."

"Well, you are not the only one who has done some growing up over the last couple of years," Lorelai said and left him alone, still rather dumbfounded by the lack of threats to his health and life.

When a few minutes later he met Rory in front of the inn, she shot him a worried look and put a hand on his arm. "You talked to my Mom?"

"Yeah, just the usual 'hurt her and you die' sort of thing."

"She wasn't too harsh on you, was she?"

"She was... Lorelai," he answered evasively.

"Okay," she bit her lip. "Just... please tell me if she's being really mean to you. I'm not letting her this time."

Jess studied her face curiously for a moment before letting out a "huh."

"What?"

"You agreed with me over Lorelai in there," he motioned towards the Dragonfly, "and now you seem to be defending me. It's weird."

Rory closed the gap between them and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Well, there is this thing I told you today at breakfast," she said quietly into his ear.

"You told me a lot of things at breakfast," he whispered back.

"Nothing particularly memorable?" she asked with a raised brow, unconsciously mirroring his expression.

"Well, maybe there was... something."

* * *

"So I'll see you on Wednesday?" Rory asked, standing in front of the diner a few hours later.

"Let me know which train you're taking and I'll pick you up from the station."

"Okay," she nodded and bit her lip.

"What is it?" Jess asked, noticing her uncertain expression.

She hesitated for a moment but gave in eventually. "Call me when you get home?"

"I will," he promised and drew her closer for one last kiss.

When he approached his car and opened the door, he was surprised to find Harriet settled in the passenger seat.

"Um, hi?" he started.

"Hi," she grinned at him.

"You're going with me?"

"For the first part of the way, I'll go back to Matt when we take a break when we are past New York."

"Okay," he agreed and started getting in but Rory stopped him.

"Jess, wait!" she said, putting a hand on his arm. "The note!"

"Oh, right." He leaned on his car to look at Harriet inside. "You know the note you gave me yesterday?" he addressed the woman.

"Of course."

"What was in it? 'Cause I only know I'm getting something."

Harriet burst out into laughter, causing Rory to giggle along, somewhat nervously.

"It - it only said that you are getting together with Rory today – meaning yesterday, and I wrote it to show you that you can be pretty transparent too, and you are supposed to wait for my 'I told you so'," Harriet explained and Jess shot Rory a rather triumphant look before his eyes, in awe, returned to Harriet.

"Wait, how did you kn-"

"Silly boy, come on, we need to get going. Rory, I apologise for dragging him away from you," Harriet smiled.

"It's okay, I was kind of getting tired of him anyway," she said, shooting a grin back to Harriet while Jess raised his hands in shock and frustration and cursed women.

"Bye, Rory, thanks for the invite again," Harriet said with a wave.

"It was our pleasure, thanks for coming," Rory waved back. "Bye," she pecked Jess on the lips again. "Just go already, otherwise I will never get this phone call tonight and I was looking forward to it."

Jess shook his head and quickly got into the car. "Bye."

"Bye."

Rory already knew that she was going to hate the whole long-distance thing.

But for now she had Wednesday to look forward to. And the phone call. For once she was actually pretty sure that he really would call. It felt great.


	15. The Transition

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! The best way to make me smile! The next three chapters won't be particularly long but they will take place over a short period of time because Rory's coming to Philly and a lot is going on.

Disclaimer: I own Harriet and Mel. I'd rather have the boys, but I'm not complaining, really. As it turns out, I still get to pick underwear for them.

* * *

Around noon on Tuesday, every one of the Truncheon workers was sitting at their respective desk, trying to work. Trying, because Jess was making it impossible while being completely oblivious to it. At first they were amused, then it turned into extreme annoyance but none of them really had the heart to do anything about it. Eventually though, Matt and Chris sent Harriet pleading, desperate looks for help.

She sighed heavily. "I'm on it," she told the boys and picked up a pile of papers from her desk.

She went over to Jess's desk, waiting for him to look up at him from his work. He didn't and she threw the papers with a thud. He graced her with a glance. "Yeah?" he asked distractedly.

"Edit this for me, will you?"

Jess looked through the pile and frowned. "It's already got your notes on it."

"I want your second opinion."

"This is a draft by that Gorman kid, you said it's the most depressing piece of pseudo-existentialist writing you've ever read," he said confusedly.

"Exactly," Harriet confirmed with a nod and a tight smile.

"What are you saying?"

"That you are whistling."

"I'm not!" Jess protested.

"Yes, you are, Jess, and whilst your interpretation of _The Habanera_ from _Carmen_ is scarily accurate, by the way I would love to know how come you know it so well, it's still kind of distracting."

"Shit," he murmured under his breath. "Why didn't anyone say anything before?"

"Because it's fun watching the usually brooding you so whipped," Matthew offered.

"You'll pay for calling me 'brooding' and 'whipped'. Separately."

"I'm already trembling, Jessie-boy," Matt replied with a cheeky grin.

"That's it," Jess said and threw a paper bullet at his friend who ducked but still got hit on the forehead.

"You're on, Mariano!" Matt yelled, getting up from his chair.

"Fight?" Chris asked absently, not stopping the typing he was focused on. "Wait for me, I just have to send this email to the prin- oww!"

"You've got five minutes, guys. Try to not make a mess," Harriet said with a knowing smile, took her cup of coffee and left the office.

A moment later, Matthew was held by Jess in a headlock, while Chris was trying to trip them. Among hysterical laughter, grunting and playful tussling, Matt cried out, "Look how feisty Jess gets when he's in love!"

"Good for Rory, I suppose!" Chris yelled in response and howled when Jess pulled his hair.

"You two are dead."

"Oh, hi guys," Melanie said, peeking through the door. "Having fun?" The bundle of limbs on the floor replied with a collective grunt. "Just change the sign above the door from 'publishing house' to 'kindergarten' and it will all be perfectly appropriate. I'm going out, bye!" she caught the handle to close the door. "Oh, and Chris?" she stopped. "Your pants are falling down. Cute elephants though."

As soon as she was out the door, Harriet entered and the boys jumped up, frantically adjusting their clothing. She watched in amusement as they stood in a row in front of her. "Got rid of the excess of aggression?" she asked and all three nodded obediently. "Masculinity restored, Jessica?" He gave her a positive grunt. "Good. No more whistling until the end of business hours, please... Chris, forgive me what I hope is a ridiculous question, but are you wearing Matt's boxers?"

"What? No, Matt has a pair with orange elephants, these are red," he answered quickly and was met with glares of the two other boys. It made him all defensive. "Jess's are the coolest though, yellow."

"Just when I thought the three of you can't surprise me anymore," Harriet stuttered in between laughter. "Explain yourselves!"

"It was his idea," Jess said quickly, motioning towards Matt.

"I swear it was yours," Matthew protested.

"No way in hell I could come up with this."

"Yes, Matt, I'm inclined to agree," Harriet offered, grinning widely.

"Well, it was that time when you went to visit your dad a couple of months ago. We were having quality bonding time over beer-"

"And we wanted to get something to symbolise our brotherly love," Chris cut in.

"Jeez," Jess muttered and rolled his eyes, all to Harriet's extreme amusement.

"We settled on Cuban cigars but it turned out we couldn't afford them so we ended up buying a three-pack of elephant boxers," Matt finished, causing his girlfriend to cover her face with her hands and shake with laughter.

"Come on, Harry, it's not that funny," Jess tried to calm her down.

Unsuccessfully.

"Oh yes it is," Harriet panted out. "And as soon as Rory gets here, I'm totally taking her to search for elephant underwear."

Jess snorted with laughter and his facial expression turned into a smirk.

"Approved."

* * *

On Wednesday, in contrast to Tuesday, he couldn't get any work done. He was anxious. After lunch it got even worse and he left half an hour earlier than necessary just because he wasn't able to sit in his chair anymore. Standing in the main hall of the train station, he was twiddling with his car keys and cursing the fact that he didn't take a book with him.

Of course, he wouldn't concentrate on the book anyway, just look up and scan the hall every five seconds, even though he knew her train wasn't arriving for a while yet.

He was torturing himself with thoughts that everything that happened in Stars Hollow wasn't going to be valid in Philly. Those were two different worlds and he wasn't entirely sure if they could go through such a transition. But then again, Rory has seen his life in Philadelphia before and things between them were more or less the same. In Stars Hollow, in Philly, even in New York. She liked his friends, his friends liked her, it all fitted together rather nicely. Too nicely, maybe that was his concern.

A concern that got blown over as soon as he saw her. She was pulling an enormous suitcase behind her, she had her laptop bag in one hand, a handbag on her shoulder, she was carefully hugging some package to her chest, her hair was falling into her eyes and she didn't have a free hand to do anything about it. He spotted her first which gave him the benefit of watching her face light up when she saw him. She bit down on her lip, clearly fighting a grin. Walking towards her, he had to do the same.

"I'd hug you but I have no hands," she welcomed him when they finally approached each other. They were both smiling by now. In response Jess only leaned in and kissed her softly.

"Hi," he said after they pulled away.

"Hi."

"Give me that," he said and took one of the bags from her hands. "Didn't you get the memo that you have a broken arm?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore. And I had to take my luggage. And cake."

"Cake?" he raised his brow.

"I went to Sookie's this morning and she insisted I took cake with me. I talked her out of giving me a double chocolate fudge cake with white chocolate flakes on top, it looked amazing but would have all melted on the way so we have a strawberry and mango tart instead."

"I guess we'll need coffee to go with that."

"You read my mind," Rory grinned.

He gave the statement a good-natured eye-roll. "Definitely. It's not because you're a totally predictable caffeine junkie."

"Hey!"

"Let me read your mind again. You'd hit me but you have no hands."

"You're good at this," she smiled. "Take the cake?"

"Nope, you take the cake, I take the suitcase and the laptop."

"You're sweet."

"I'm not. I'm just gonna get a complex if something happens to your arm for the third time in my presence," he said and led her out of the station and to his car parked nearby in the street.

When they put all the luggage and the cake safely in the trunk, they turned to face each other and Jess smirked.

"So how about a proper hello?"

Rory giggled. "You know, you promised me that cheesy twirl around thing."

Before she knew it he drew her closer, lifted and span her around, causing her to squeal giddily.

"How was that?" he asked, putting her down.

"Cheesy," she grinned. "And nice."

Jess gave her a genuine smile, closing the gap between them. "I'm glad you're here," he said but the sense of déjà vu only came with her answer.

"Me too."

"If you pull away this time I'm gonna kill you."

"If I don't pull away I'm gonna die from the lack of oxygen," Rory countered, speaking almost against his mouth now.

"That's only what they taught you at Chilton to prevent you from making out in the hallways."

"I'm very amazed that not even my close proximity makes you lose your wit."

"Well, I'm fighting very hard to keep it."

"Then stop," she offered, tangling her fingers in his hair.

"Okay," he said and finally captured her lips with his in a kiss that better than any words conveyed exactly how glad they were.

* * *

"Someone help me up, please," Harriet moaned, struggling to get up from the coach as credits rolled across the TV screen and everyone lazily got to their feet. "Thanks, Reed. Thanks for the movie, guys."

"And for the cake," Matt added. "For future reference – we like you anyway, Rory, so you don't have to bribe us with cake. But it is always welcome."

Rory took Matthew's words graciously and smiled at him. He returned the gesture, even if slightly wearily.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Harriet said and directed her steps towards the door, with Matt following suit. Before he closed the door behind himself completely, he vigorously opened them again.

"Try to get some actual rest tonight, kids, we have a meeting with Larry in the morning," he addressed Jess and Rory.

"Goodnight Matthew," Jess dismissed with a smirk, motioning for him to get out.

"Goodnight Jessie-boy. Goodnight Rory. Night Chris. Night sis."

"Matt!"

"I'll miss you!" Chris exclaimed dramatically.

"You have no idea!" Matt responded in the same manner.

"Matthew!" they heard Harriet call out from downstairs.

"Chris, how did we let a woman get between us?" Matt mock pouted. "Gotta go, can't keep the lady waiting."

"Bye!" the group said to him and he exited the apartment.

Chris disappeared in the bathroom, Melanie in her room while Jess and Rory we left standing in the living room.

"And then there were two," she said.

"Finally."

Rory chuckled. "I had fun tonight."

"Good," Jess sighed. "Wanna take a walk?"

"Now?" she asked, catching his wrist to look at his watch. "It's 11 p.m."

"So?"

She hesitated for a split second. "Let's go!"

They walked mostly in comfortable silence, only occasionally exchanging some remarks about the neighbourhood they were passing. It was nice, strolling like that, aimlessly, just to enjoy the cool air of the night and each other's presence. They used to do that back in high school, only in Stars Hollow it was impossible to get very far. In Philadelphia it was different. They weren't restricted. Whatever they did, the whole town wouldn't know about it the next day and there would be no respectable Mr Doose breathing down their necks.

So when they spotted a small playground, in silent agreement they directed their steps towards it and sat on the swings, letting themselves swing lightly and the summer breeze wash over them.

"Did you have any contact with your mom yet?" Jess broke the silence.

"Not really," Rory answered. "She only sent me a text on Sunday night saying that they got to their hotel and Luke already hates it so she's got to, I quote, 'cheer him up'."

"Jeez," he chuckled. "Lorelai doesn't understand the concept of 'too much information', does she?"

"Not at all. But you've got to admit she's becoming quite a diplomat, going to a 5-star hotel in Barbados for a week to please Emily Gilmore and then a week in a deserted cabin in Canada to please Luke."

"You're forgetting that Luke protested anyway because a cabin in Canada is no different and only more expensive than a cabin in Vermont."

"That's only because he didn't want her to see his passport picture," she grinned and then frowned at the sound of her cell phone ringing. "You're sitting next to me, so who on earth is calling me at this hour?" she said and reached to her pocket. "Speak of the devil... Hi Mom! We were just talking about you... Exactly, the exquisite shine of your hair was the hot topic of our conversation... Yeah, I got here okay, Jess picked me up from the station. Anyway, tell me about Barbados... isn't it in the same time zone as we are? Cool! Well, how did you like Bridgetown? Sounds amazing... Mom... Mom... I know... I will... Love you, bye."

"Mom says hi," she addressed Jess, putting her phone back in her pocket but it started ringing again. "What the... Mom? Oh, sure, okay," she extended her hand with the phone to Jess. "Luke wants to talk to you."

"Uncle Luke... No, I left my cell at home... Out... Jeez, Luke, where do you think I took her, we're just taking a walk... Yes, I picked Rory up from the station... You're having a good time? Yeah, picturing you in a 5-star hotel keeps me entertained. Luke... Luke! I'm a big boy, thank you. Sure thing. Bye."

He ended the call and passed Rory the phone back. "Luke says hi." Rory smiled. "I swear, this guy gets more and more overprotective as the years go by."

"It's funny, you know," Rory said, swinging slightly.

"What?"

"Luke always claimed he didn't like kids but he became pretty much the father figure to so many people. You, me, April, Doula, he's even Lane and Zach's twins' godfather."

"Luke..." Jess started, pushing himself off on the swing. "Luke just built himself the perfect bachelor life over the years and it was all out of his comfort zone. He didn't want to realise he's the kind of guy who needs to support others to be happy so it only makes sense now," he stated with a shrug, uncomfortable under Rory's adoring gaze.

"You're right. That's pretty much the perfect summary of Luke's character."

"About dads and father figures... Jimmy called last night."

"Oh... is that... good or bad?" Rory asked, uncertain.

"It's okay."

Rory waited a moment for him to say something more but he didn't. "Verbal thing gone?" she asked with a small smile, and he smirked in response.

"Nah... It's just... He calls but he treats me like he'd treat anyone else, you know? We talk about Lily's school, how Sasha makes him do yoga because he's gaining weigh in his old age or discuss whether we'll boycott the new Guns N'Roses album or not. He's a pretty cool guy, I just-"

"Don't feel like his son?" she finished, looking at him intently.

"Yeah," Jess answered, looking down. "And you know what the wicked thing is? I don't even hate him for leaving anymore," he confessed somewhat bitterly.

"How come?"

"Honestly? I can't be bothered. Plus... I kind of get it. He wasn't even twenty-one when I was born. His life was a mess. And – I'm not exactly proud of it – but I get that sometimes bailing seems like the only option you have."

"Jess, why are you trying to sympathise with him? You wouldn't have left a child behind." He had to look up at her, the conviction in her voice surprised him.

"I left you and Luke," he argued tiredly but Rory wasn't about to agree.

"Very different. Neither of us was ever your responsibility."

He shook his head, a sad smile on his lips. "How did we end up with you defending me and me defending Jimmy?"

"Well, I forgave you a long time ago but I'm still having a hard time with comprehending how your parents could have treated you the way they did. And I'm pretty sure that I don't know the whole story yet."

"Okay, Rory, but think about it," he continued. "Do you hate your dad for leaving?"

Rory sighed. "I... I don't know."

"Which means you don't."

"But... I do!"

"No, you don't," Jess stated. "You hate what he did, you don't hate him. And actually, most of the time, you can actually justify his actions to yourself, can't you?"

"Well... the first time, Mom actually refused to let him stay, while he was willing to commit. Then he left because Sherry got pregnant with Gigi and he was trying to do the right thing..." She got lost in thought, all the while he watched her attentively. "You're right. How is it that sometimes you seem to know me better than I know myself?" she asked with sheer curiosity.

"This question seems to demand an answer that involves some 'other half' cheesy crap and I think we already overdosed on cheesy today," he replied with a smirk and jumped off the swing, giving Rory a hand to help her get off. "Come on, we still have a few miles to walk back."

She jumped off and swung an arm around his waist. "Hey, Jess," she said as they started walking. "We're getting pretty good at this."

"What?"

"Talking. I like it."

"Huh."

She laughed out loud. "That's good too. As long as there's a balance."

"Wanna know a secret?" he asked.

"Sure."

"I kind of like the talking, too. Sometimes it's actually okay."

"Well, if we're sharing secrets like that, I'm okay with not talking from time to time, too."

"Lorelai would disown you if she heard you now," Jess joked.

"Good thing she's very busy in Barbados right now," she said, a mischievous smile on her lips.

He chuckled. "Okay, now would be the time to stop talking, Gilmore."

"You're right, that was a big mistake," she pouted, looked up at him and her expression changed into a grin. "Distract me from thinking about my Mom and Luke. Please?"

"Technically, you brought it onto yourself so I should make you pay. But what the hell," he relented and claimed her mouth with his, his mind briefly visited by the thought that it was good the neighbourhood was calm and there were no cars they could walk in front of.


	16. The Old Agoraphobic Couple

A/N: Filler, I know. I promise, the next chapter will be more eventful. Huge thank you to everyone who's been sticking to this story until now, especially to those who've been reviewing. Especially to April for all the encouragement and enthusiasm :)

Disclaimer: I own the DVDs. I'm the author of this story. I'm supposed to say I still don't own anything.

* * *

Thursday at work was going disturbingly fast and they were all kept unusually busy by the ton of phone calls and the bills arriving in the mail. Jess was just crossing the Truncheon bookstore to go upstairs check up on Rory, just to find her curled up between two shelves in the store, scribbling something in a notebook, with a stack of books next to her.

He contemplated the cosy image for a few seconds before she felt his gaze and looked up at him, smiling.

"You know, we have chairs here," he motioned to the closest one. "And a great couch upstairs."

"I'm good here," Rory answered. "I can hear you work. You talk quite a bit when printers bug you."

"I'm glad you find my hard work entertaining," he said and squatted down in front of her, resting his hands on her knees for balance. "What are you doing?"

"Compiling a list of my favourite literature of the decade."

"What for?"

"For fun," Rory answered, handling Jess the notebook.

He took it and frowned immediately. "And you're sure this is a list for this decade, not for the last three?"

"Hey, maybe it wasn't the best decade for literature in history, but you'd still find some real gems."

"Yeah, if I was able to look around a Barnes & Noble without being attacked by the Twilight Saga from every corner of the room."

"You never go to Barnes & Noble."

"My point exactly."

"Now you're just being dramatic." She snatched the notebook from him but he didn't let go of it.

"Hey, I'm not done reading yet," he stated and focused his eyes on her writing, falling into a comfortable silence, while she started looking through one of the books from her stack. "Rory," he said after a moment, not looking up, afraid she might be somehow offended by his idea.

"Yeah?"

"How about you turn it into an article? We'd publish it in the 'Zine."

"Are you serious?" she asked with a grin, to his infinite relief.

"Very."

"I'd love to, Jess! I haven't written anything properly for weeks now and I should be getting back into the swing of things."

"Great," he smirked. "One condition though."

"Sure."

"You have to remove _The Subsect_ from this list."

"No way," she shot back immediately. "This is my subjective list and it's not complete without _The Subsect_!"

"Stop."

"No. No way. It's on the list regardless of who you are to me. Of course, that makes it all the better but the book is amazing itself."

He grimaced, toying with the idea in silence. "Fine," he caved after a moment of hesitation. "Just... don't treat it any differently than the rest."

"Deal. When's the deadline?"

"Whenever."

Rory shook her head with a smile. "Saturday it is."

"Pleasure doing business with you, Gilmore," Jess smirked in response, his eyes returning to the list. "So, Gaarder? That guy who wrote Sophie's World?"

"That's him. You haven't read _The Orange Girl_?"

"Nope."

"Well, you should. It's about this boy who finds a letter his father wrote to him before his death years earlier. He wrote it so that the son could get to know him, so he talks about himself, his interests, the times they had together and tells the story about how he met the love of his life, the Orange Girl. It's beautiful. Plus, it's got this whole philosophical aspect to it, big existential questions, but it's seamless and not tacky."

"I'll check it out."

"Good."

"In the meantime - any ideas for tonight?"

"I don't know. You look tired," she answered, running a hand through his hair. "We could order Chinese and play Scrabble."

"Scrabble?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. You have Scrabble in your room, I saw it this morning."

"I was meaning to hide it before you came," he half-joked. "But since it's too late now... sure, Chinese and Scrabble sounds great."

"Good."

He planted a chaste kiss on her lips before hearing Matthew clear his throat behind his back.

"Guys, I may have done something stupid," he said as the couple looked up at him.

"You may have?" Jess raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"There was this phone call and I picked it up and I was just being myself while this woman was asking various questions about the business, so I told her to get lost, at least temporarily, because I'm not sharing the details with the competition, and if she needs advice on starting a publishing company she should take some classes or something. Then she asked for you," Matt nervously motioned towards Jess, "and I said you're off somewhere, probably making out with your girlfriend. And then I finally got her to tell me what her name was and it was... well, it was Emily Gilmore. And just so you know, Harriet already gave me hell about this, so you don't have to," he added quickly.

"Matthew, did I mention that I'm gonna kill you one of these days?"

"Yes, I believe I did hear you say it before."

"Come on, you've met Emily Gilmore at the wedding, Matt, you should have known better!"

"Technically I haven't met her, just seen her, so I couldn't have recognised her voice on the phone," Matt whined apologetically. "Oh, Rory, she asked me, or rather ordered me to ask you to stop making out with Jess and call her back. Soon."

"You tell all that to Emily and we weren't even making out," Jess muttered desolately.

Rory shot him an amused look, rising to her feet. "Go on, I'll call Grandma and you finish your work and do something to stop thinking about increasing printing prices."

"I'll take a quick shower then, you can order the food."

"How very organised," she teased good-naturedly and walked past him towards the stairs to the apartment.

"Hey," he swiftly caught her healthy arm and pulled her closer to kiss her, fighting to keep his face straight.

Rory bit her lip, looking him in the eye for a second before kissing the corner of his mouth, knowing it always drove him crazy. Then, wordlessly, she walked away with a small smile.

She was still close enough to hear his frustrated sigh. "Tell your grandmother I said hi!" he called after her.

* * *

"Hi Grandma, it's Rory."

"_Oh, hello Rory, thank goodness you are calling me back."_

"Why, is something wrong?"

"_You are in Philadelphia, that's what's wrong. You could have at least had the courtesy to inform me that you are going away, I wanted to invite you over to tea tomorrow."_

"I'm sorry, Grandma," Rory replied sincerely, indeed feeling a bit stupid about it. "But... how did you know I was here, then?"

"_I talked to your mother earlier today."_

"Oh, fair enough."

Her grandmother remained silent for a few seconds before starting with certain nervousness, _"Rory, I would really be calmer if you came and spent those few days with your grandfather and me."_

"Grandma..." She winced and took a deep breath before continuing. "Please don't take this the wrong way. It's really important for me to be in Philadelphia with Jess for the next couple of days. And I'm good here. I know Matt may not have been the most pleasant person on the phone, but this is a wonderful place, I love hanging out with everyone here, and Jess is here and it feels like... it feels like ho-"

"_You, young lady,"_ Emily cut in, sensing that she didn't want to hear what Rory had to say, _"are wasting your precious time on building a relationship with a person who is not fit for it."_

Rory gritted her teeth, determined not to raise her voice. "And what exactly do you know about him, Grandma? You've met him twice," she emphasised the word. "I've known Jess for seven years now, and I know that he may be a little rough around the edges, especially when he was younger, but he gets me like no one else in the world, Grandma. He keeps me on my toes, cares about me, he's got a career and is amazing at what he does and I cannot have you constantly judging him for some little things he did years ago. You don't have to like him, Grandma, just please accept our relationship because it's going last. A long, long time," she finished out of breath, suddenly realising how very sure of it she was. "Grandma? Are you there?"

"_Yes, I'm here,"_ Emily replied rather curtly. _"You really are your mother's daughter."_

"I like to believe so."

"_All right then."_

"All right?"

"_Yes."_

"Will he be welcome at dinners?" Rory tried.

"_Yes."_

"Can I tell him you said hi?"

"_That will be fine."_

"Thank you."

"_Call us when you get to Chicago, Rory," _Emily said, seeming eager to change the subject.

"I will. Take care, Grandma, and hug Grandpa from me."

She was about to hang up, when she heard her grandmother call her name.

"Yes, Grandma?"

"_Tell that young man who picked up the phone when I called that he should learn some manners."_

"Sure thing," she smiled and let her hands fall from the feeling of relief.

* * *

Not that he planned it or anything, but so it happened that about an hour later he entered his room with wet hair and no shirt on, directing his steps straight to the closet to find one.

"Tease," Rory's voice reached his ears. She was sitting on his bed and by the time he turned to look at her, she was staring at the book in her lap, a small smile playing on her lips.

He smirked and pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"Feel free to walk around the place naked yourself," he said, plopping on the mattress next to her.

"Thanks for the offer but I don't really like the idea of Chris or Melanie seeing me naked."

"Thanks for not including me on the list of people who are not meant to see you naked," Jess answered smoothly.

"Hush, you," she scolded and kissed his cheek, which he made use of immediately, gently attaching his lips to her neck and lowering her onto the bed. He propped himself with his hands on either side of her, effectively trapping her underneath his body, feeling deliciously in control until her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him on top of her and making him realise that he was in fact helpless, she was just giving him the benefit of thinking he was in control. He smirked upon the realisation, wanting to make her pay for deluding him like that. Slowly, tantalisingly, he worked his way back up to her mouth, getting undeniable satisfaction from the way she squirmed underneath him, her legs tangling with his before their lips met in a frenzied kiss, in a common aim of pouring out the frustration built up over the years. It seemed like every fibre of their beings was calling for more of something that wasn't quite describable and they obliged with searching hands, nipping teeth and hungry mouths. Ever the insatiate.

In this tumult of both feelings and limbs, he pressed against her in a wrong way, causing her to stifle a moan from pain in her broken arm. She shifted and rolled them over, not ceasing the attack on his lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush on top of him, keeping both her and his hands in place. Her healthy arm ran down his side and sneaked under his t-shirt, needing to be closer still, the yearning for him impossible to fight with anymore. She felt his muscles twitch under her fingers and she started testing and teasing with feather-light touches, but he stopped her quickly, catching her hand in his.

"Rory... please don't," he spoke weakly in a husky tone that sent shivers down her spine. Completely out of breath, she lifted her head to catch his eye and see nothing but an odd mixture of warmth and vulnerability and desire. Her own eyes told him that she hated that he was stopping her but she understood. And that she admired the strength of his will, though it was soon certain to drive her crazy.

They kept up the eye contact before she brought her hand to his cheek and let her head fall in the crook of his neck.

She needed to break the tension somehow, say something, but nothing of any importance came to mind when she was practically tingling all over. "I forgot how exhausting making out can be," she breathed into his ear, feeling him smirk against her hand.

"Quit complaining or I'll make you run around the block to get you in form, Gilmore," he joked after a moment, loosening his grip on her but still not letting her go, a fact she wasn't complaining about, even though she was starting to feel his ribs digging into her stomach. "You're gonna need it," he added with a chuckle. He expected her to reprimand him, call him a pig or playfully slap his arm but she only sighed soundly.

"Like heck I will," she muttered into his shoulder. "I don't even know when I'm going to see you again."

"Hey. No thinking about your leaving until Sunday," he said, rubbing her back comfortingly,

"I just... I hate to make you plan ahead like this, I know it's not your thing, I just really can't have us... unsorted, if you know what I mean."

"We'll figure it out, Ror. We can start looking for some flight tickets while you're still here. And you only have, what, five months to finish the campaign trail, anyway."

"I know," she answered dejectedly. "We'll figure it out until then," she added weakly as an afterthought.

"Exactly. Besides, it's the twenty-first century, the technology is on our side."

She didn't reply for a while, not daring to lift her head, afraid that the heat spreading across her face was demonstrating itself in an enormous redness of her cheeks. "Why do I get a feeling that you are referring to phone sex?"

The chuckle that followed sounded almost like laughter, making her smile happily. "Now that you mention it..." he teased.

Of course, the world would end if they weren't interrupted, this time it was by Chris knocking on the door of Jess's room, yelling that their food arrived. Rory rolled off Jess straight away, smoothing her hair and he only sighed and followed her out of his room.

"I don't suppose you guys want to watch a movie?" Chris asked when Rory passed him in the living room.

"Thanks. We're playing Scrabble."

"I thought it's called Twister," he air quoted.

"Good old Scrabble, Chris," Rory smiled.

"Oh...Can I play?"

"No!" came Jess's shout from the kitchen and Chris retreated to join Melanie on the couch.

* * *

"Oooh, I have a pretty word," she said with a grin, putting 'mixture' on the board.

"Nice. Double letter score on the 'x', that makes it... twenty-four."

"Yay!"

"Hold that thought," he instructed, laying out his tiles on the board, using the 'i' to create 'zucchini.'

Rory stared at him disbelievingly. "Did you just use all of your letters?"

"Yup," he grinned. "Twenty-four plus the fifty point bonus."

"I hate you."

"Mm-hmm. Your turn."

With a pout, she lowered her head to look at her tiles. She remained silent for a few minutes before whining, "My letters suck!"

"Come on, you must have something."

"Easy for you to say," she murmured, gazing at the board.

"It is, I have three s's," he said lazily, leaning back on the wall and looking at her concentrated expression. He smiled, thinking that he could actually watch her struggle with Scrabble forever. "Rory," he started at the risk of sounding like a hopeless sap and she looked up at him briefly. "I love you."

She only smiled and looked back down at her letters, extending her hand to lace her fingers with his. He ran his thumb across her palm.

"I've talked to Grandma, by the way."

"Let me guess, another lecture on how to protect yourself from being corrupted by a hoodlum?"

"Nope. She says hi to you and thinks that Matt needs to either learn some manners or be fired."

"She might have a point. But I don't believe that she says hi."

"She does!"

"Right," he nodded sceptically.

"Fine, you don't have to believe me. It will just be a nice surprise for you when you meet her again."

"Now, there is something to look forward to."

"Jess! Back to the game. I do have something but you have to promise not to comment."

"Why?"

"Just promise."

"Okay."

And she turned 'quick' into 'quickie' using the triple word score.

"That's sixty-six points," Jess said, with a rather weird facial expression as he was fighting a smirk.

"Score!"

* * *

"I swear, if I hear a single moan, I'm sleeping in the office tonight," Chris announced. "And I'd advise you to do the same."

"You're crazy, you know that?" Mel shook her head. "You're just jealous because they are so much in love. It's cute."

"The poor guy is totally whipped, there's nothing to be jealous about... Shhh!" Chris hissed, turning the volume of the TV down to listen in.

"Chris! Turn it up, I'm watching this!" Melanie exclaimed, leaning across him to grab the remote control from his outstretched hand.

"Shh! The lovebirds are leaving the nests, pretend you're asleep!" he frantically ordered in a whisper and covered her mouth with his hand when she tried to protest, effectively pulling her head onto his chest.

When Rory and Jess entered the living room a second later, Mel and Chris were positioned very close, very awkwardly on the couch, with eyes closed and breaths fighting to be normal.

They couldn't see Rory's surprised face when she asked Jess what was up with them, or Jess's evil grin as he led his girlfriend to the armchair and sat there with her, pretending to watch TV, while in fact they were looking at Chris and Mel and stifling their laughter.

When, after what seemed like forever, Rory finally dragged Jess out to the kitchen, Mel hissed in pain, lifting herself off Chris.

"What the hell?" she asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged in response. "I was acting on instinct!"

"What, your best friend and his girlfriend enter the room so you play dead?"

"Um... yeah," Chris admitted, sounding slightly embarrassed.

Mel snorted with laughter. "I'll help you find a therapist tomorrow," she said and disappeared in her room.

"Goodnight to you too!" he called after her and angrily switched the TV channel.


	17. The Firsts

A/N: I can't believe I'm already here with this story. In case anyone is a dork like me - the wedding was on Saturday, they had family lunch on Sunday, Rory came to Philly on Wednesday, they played Scrabble on Thursday and now it's Friday and they have a party to attend. By the way, the only thing I seem to be able to write these days is hardcore fluff. I hope your stomachs can still take it. And please share if you have any suggestions for mixing it up without me having to kill off anybody (that would inevitably turn into some fluffy comforting scenes) or Rory and/or Jess being stricken by some STIs and ultimately resenting each other. Seriously, what is my mind at... Reviews! They make me happy. Maybe that's why I can only write fluff. But screw that and leave some anyway, pretty please. Oh, and I apologise for the longest, rambling note.

Disclaimer: No ownership on my part.

* * *

"Jess," Harriet stopped in front of his desk. "Since you fail to provide any decent entertainment at the present moment, I'm taking Rory to show her my place, we'll be back in an hour or so."

"Okay," he nodded absently. "Did you do the clearing for this month yet?"

"All done," she confirmed. "Pay checks on Monday. Now, be nice and wave to your girlfriend."

He smirked at Rory who was already standing by the door. "See you."

The girls went down the stairs and onto the sultry street.

"I can finally show you the pictures I took in Stars Hollow," Harriet smiled at Rory. "I have to hide them from Jess because he tends to delete all the photos he's in," she explained.

Rory shook her head in amusement. "Tell me about it. I don't know what he's so self-conscious about. After all these years I have yet to see his baby pictures."

"I'm sure Lizzie will be thrilled to show them to you."

"Yeah, a visit to her is already on my agenda."

A few minutes later, they entered Harriet's apartment with pairs and pairs of shoes lined along the purple walls of the hallway.

"Wow. You have more shoes than my mother."

"They drive Matt crazy. Coffee?"

"Sure. Nice place," Rory said, looking around at the modern yet cosy interior and admiring the old movie posters on the walls.

"Thanks," Harriet smiled and directed her steps to the kitchen, motioning for Rory to follow her. "Okay, so show me the dress," she grinned excitedly and Rory reached into her bag, taking out the outfit she chose to wear at Nora and Josh's party. "It's gorgeous," Harriet gushed, looking at the cream and brown, knee-length dress, slightly flaring out from the waist. "And it's totally you."

"Thanks. It's just this cast that I hate, it looks ridiculous."

"No more ridiculous than any other cast. Besides, seriously, the dress will outshine the cast ten times over, you have nothing to worry about... I'll open the pictures on the computer so you can see them and I'll rummage through my wardrobe and find you a cardigan, girl."

The pictures were hilarious. Mostly candid, and Harriet apparently had a sense for catching all the right moments. There was one of Miss Patty laughing her head off, leaning on a disoriented Emily Gilmore at the infamous bachelorette party. Jess and Matt in their Luke-like attires, both clearly less than impressed that they had to pose for a picture. Another one of the bride and the groom receiving wishes from Kirk and Lulu after the ceremony. Then there was a very uncomfortable-looking Jess with broccoli-devouring Doula in his lap and one of Harriet and Matthew in front of Luke's.

But one that particularly caught Rory's attention was taken so that her own profile was visible in the foreground, still in her blue bridesmaid's dress, a shy smile on her lips, looking towards Jess who stood several feet away, his hands in his pockets, looking unmistakably at her, smirking.

"Harriet?"

"Yes?" the woman called from another room.

"Can I copy them all to my memory stick?"

"Of course," Harriet replied, appearing in the room with a pile of clothing in her hands, looking at the screen over Rory's shoulder.

"Frankly, I am so proud of that picture," she smiled. "Even if I intruded on some pretty intimate moment between you two."

"I love it," Rory assured softly, her cheeks turning pink.

"You know," Harriet said with a hint of seriousness, sitting down on a sofa. "I've never seen him so happy as he's been for the last couple of days. And it's a lot more than just the 'I-finally-got-laid' kind of happy, which is totally adorable."

"He hasn't," Rory said awkwardly and bit her lip.

"He ha... you mean you haven't?" Harriet's eyes widened. "Wow. Well, if you make him that happy without the sex, then kudos to you, my friend."

Rory could no longer contain a delighted smile. "Thanks."

"You kids are too cute," Harriet only laughed, rolling her eyes for good measure.

* * *

"Rory, seriously, how much more time do you need to get ready?"

"Twenty seconds!"

"Fine! I'm counting!"

At that moment the door of his room opened, revealing Rory, but Rory looking more divine than usually. Jess got up from leaning against an armchair and threw the book he was reading onto the coffee table.

He stared. He smirked.

"Okay, this is probably the most clichéd thing to say I could come up with but... Wow... Maybe we should skip the party and stay in my room instead."

"Oh, sure," Rory replied teasingly. "We'll stay and we'll sit in there and you'll leer at me for the rest of the night."

"Yeah, you might have a point. Kind of boring," he teased right back.

"Hey!"

"Wow, careful, wouldn't want this ego of yours to make a hole in the roof."

"You're pushing it, mister," Rory warned.

They met half way across the room, laced their fingers and he made a move as if to kiss her, only to bury his face in the crook of her neck, smiling victoriously at her frustration as she squeezed his hand.

"You're enjoying this way too much," she said breathily.

"No such thing."

He shifted to capture her lips.

"Na-ah," she pulled away, covering his mouth with his fingers, getting her sweet revenge. "Time to go."

"Fine," he grunted. "Let's go, spend some time with a crowd jumping up and down to some crappy non-music."

"Oh, I'll make you jump all right."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jess sneered.

"I'm not sure. Sounded like the right thing to say. Now, let's go!" she grabbed her purse and pushed him towards the front door.

"I'm not jumping."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Wait," he turned around to face her.

"What?"

"Was that supposed to be some kind of an innuendo?"

"Jess!" she swatted his arm with her purse, unable to keep her cheeks from burning up. "Just go!"

"Yes ma'am," he answered and grinned when she let out a frustrated groan, walking right behind him out of the apartment.

* * *

Nora saw them as soon as they entered the club, waved to them and made her way over.

"Jess, Rory!" she yelled, trying to out-shout the music. "My, what happened to your arm?"

"Oh," Rory smiled politely, not very pleased with her arm's instant attention-grabbing skills. "I broke it at a concert!"

"That's too bad! I'm glad you came though! Together!"

"Well, you invited both of us!" Rory shouted back, automatically taking responsibility for the conversation.

"Yeah, but you're together-together!" Nora pointed at their joined hands.

"Well... yeah!"

"When did that happen?"

"About a week ago!"

"Ooh, fresh! Good for you guys!" she grinned.

"Thanks! And congratulations to you and Josh!"

"Thank you! I think I've got to tell the DJ to take it down a notch! I'll talk to you later, have fun! Oh! And I recommend the cocktails!"

She walked off, moving to the rhythm of the song, leaving them watching the crowd a bit sceptically.

"So, drinks?"

"Yup."

"Come on then, the bar is there!" Rory pointed and pulled Jess through the crowd.

"Beer, whatever's on the tap," Jess asked the bartender.

"You don't wanna be any more adventurous?" Rory inquired.

"Beer is good for now."

"Okay. I'll have a Mar... actually I'll have something different tonight. A... Zombie, please."

Jess shot her an amused look before the bartender addressed her. "Can I see an ID?"

"Mine?" Rory asked confusedly, then laughed nervously in response to the bartender's nod. "I haven't gotten my ID checked in the longest time."

She started rummaging through her purse in search of her driver's licence, but unfortunately the purse was tiny, and she only threw her things into it on the very last minute. Which meant simply no ID.

"I left it at home. Well, not at home, I have no-"

"I'm afraid you'll have to choose another drink, Miss," the man cut in coldly.

"Oh come on, she's legal," Jess decided to step in.

The bartender only glared at him.

"Fine," Rory smiled sweetly, trying to imagine what her mother would do if she were in her shoes. "I'll have a cup of coffee. Arabica, Kenyan, fair trade – that's essential, we can't let the western capitalism go too far; roasted at no more than 395 degrees, that would kill all the good microelements. One and a quarter spoons of brown sugar, a quarter of vanilla sugar, a little bit of cinnamon for flavour, no milk. Thanks."

The bartender was now looking at her with horror on his face. "How does that Zombie sound?"

"Still wonderful."

As the man got to work, Jess chuckled and drew Rory closer. "Impressive."

"What an idiot," she huffed. "He doesn't look like he's more than eighteen himself."

"Maybe that's the kid's lame-o way of picking up older, hot girls," he smirked.

"Well, it's not working on me."

"I'm glad," Jess kissed her cheek.

They leaned against the wall, just because they were cool like that. They sipped their drinks, watching the people around them, occasionally commenting, joking that being Babette or Miss Patty must actually be pretty entertaining. They mourned the current state of pop music and made small talk with the grand total of four random people. Two of those conversations were rather awkward, as Nora's friend and sister recognised Jess as the guy she went out with a few times.

From time to time they shared a kiss, losing themselves in their own little world.

A slow, quieter song came on, and Rory was pretty close to dragging Jess to the dance floor when Nora and Josh approached them arm in arm, Nora smiling widely, Josh a little more wary.

"Hi again!"

"Hey!"

"Hi."

Josh shook Jess's hand first, then Rory's.

"Guys, I think my dear fiancé has something to say to you," Nora nudged Josh on the ribs.

"Uh... yeah. I'm sorry for the last time, I was out of line. That was just, uh, driving me crazy."

Jess shrugged, offering one word. "Understandable."

"Yeah, forget about it," Rory agreed. "That night actually worked out for the best for all of us, helped us realise things. Right, Jess?"

"Yup."

"So we're all good?"

"Of course!"

"Yeah."

"Great," Nora smiled at the group. "Oooh, I've been waiting for this song to come up! Jay, dance with me," she pulled Josh's elbow.

"Is this that new Lady Gaga thing you played me the other day?"

"_Paparazzi_. Yes."

"I'm not dancing to this," Josh grimaced, causing his fiancée to glare at him, her hands on her hips. When he didn't relent, she faced Jess.

"I'm stealing your girlfriend for a moment," she stated and caught Rory's healthy arm, pulling her onto the dance floor so quickly that Rory and Jess only glanced at each other, apology and amusement on their respective faces as the singer sang about 'leather and jeans, garage glamorous'.

Both boys buried their hands in their pockets, looking after their girls.

A moment later, Josh froze. "God, why is my aunt here?"

Jess smirked. "I'm not exactly the one to ask."

"Well, I better find out. Good seeing you again, Jess."

"Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious. I was kind of jealous before, turns out that seeing you with Rory was the perfect cure. Good luck, man."

He walked away, not waiting for a response.

Jess bit the inside of his cheek thoughtfully, staring blankly into space, then focusing his sight on Rory's figure. It didn't matter there were quite a few provocatively dressed women occupying the space between them; his eyes caught her straight away. He looked down at his shoes, smirking.

A minute later she returned to him, her breathing accelerated from exercise, a spark in her eyes.

"You danced," he stated mock-accusingly.

"I know!" she exclaimed. "I haven't done that in a while."

"You've done that before? I mean, you were slow dancing at the wedding, I never suspected you danced like that though."

"What did you think they taught us at Yale? I've had my fair share of parties, especially... considering who I was with," she finished evasively. "You wanna head home? What time is it?"

"Just past 11 o'clock and gladly."

"We're such a pair of party animals."

"Well, you are, apparently."

"You know I'm not. I enjoy it occasionally but something like this once a year is more than enough for me."

"Let's get out of here, then."

"Hello again, everyone," Nora's voice resounded from the speakers, making them stop in their tracks. "I won't talk for long, I promise. I just wanted to thank you all again for coming here, celebrating with us that we finally got it together. So many of you helped us to get to where we are today – my dearest big sister Aggie- you're the best, my parents who aren't here tonight, Josh's mom, Jared, Hannah, Dan and Betty - we'll always look up to guys, and our new friends, Jess and Rory - you've been our eye openers, it's amazing to know we did a little bit of that for you too. Now, before I start crying... Josh and I have picked out a thank you song, quite literally. It took a lot of thought and you'll all probably laugh, besides, I don't think anyone has ever attempted slow dancing to Led Zeppelin, but let's make it a first. So, here it is. _Thank You_."

Rory and Jess looked at each other, slightly shocked.

"Uh... I think that obliges us to stay for one more song."

"Looks like it," he nodded and extended a hand to her.

She glanced at it with disbelief. "Jess Mariano, are you actually asking me to dance?"

His eyebrows rose immediately as he answered her. "You mock and I'm withdrawing my offer."

She smiled, took his hand and rest her cheek against his, letting the song work its magic.

_If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.  
When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me._

_

* * *

_

They stumbled into the apartment, a ferocious bundle of limbs, attached at the lips, majorly scaring Chris who was lying down on the couch with his earphones on. There was no way they could have noticed him from behind their closed eyelids, on their lousy way to Jess's room. As soon as they managed to shut the door with the weight of their bodies, she was pinned against it, her hands working their way from around his neck to under his shirt, pushing it up as much as their close proximity let her while he slid the straps of her dress down her arms. For a split second, he thought he'd be able to swing it. Have her there and then without talking about it first, even though it would be a hypocritical thing to do. An immature thing to do. A Jess Mariano thing to do, possibly. But then her movements began to slow down, became more contemplative, almost, and with her lips against his jaw she whispered something about stopping.

He sighed, then pulled away slowly, planting a kiss on her neck to assure her it was okay. He had no right to be mad after all.

He mumbled that he had to go to the bathroom and left the room, while she sat on the bed, deflated, before exhaling heavily and lying down with a thud.

As soon as he was in the bathroom, he leaned against cold tiles and slid down, throwing his head back and closing his eyes.

He was angry with himself, with his demands for increasing so much. A week earlier, the idea of just kissing Rory Gilmore seemed crazy. It was too much to ask for.

But six incredible days turned it into too little. Kissing itself was still electrifying, that was exactly what made it too little; it was just beyond the power of his mind to keep himself from wanting more.

Everything.

The cool stream of water in the shower proved miraculous. He almost started believing that since he waited seven years, he was perfectly capable of waiting a little longer. Even though they shared a bed now. Even though the cast on her arm and 'too soon' were the only arguments he could think of.

He walked back into his room, ready to tell her that, lie down, pull her close and sleep.

But it turned out that she was asleep already.

On her side, changed into her pyjamas, clutching the corner of the duvet to her chest, her top lifted and exposing her stomach.

He swallowed in attempt to ease the dryness that returned to his mouth, grabbed his own pyjama pants and a t-shirt, turned off the bedside lamp and left the room to go and at least try to sleep on the couch.

* * *

Rory woke up in the middle of the night, feeling cold. She shifted, feeling around for Jess but he wasn't there, and her eyes snapped open, alarmed. She got up and stepped out to the living room, pulling her Yale sweatshirt over her head.

A wave of relief washed over her when she found him asleep on the couch, his arms dangling over the edge despite the fact that he was endearingly curled up. Her heart melted a little as she pulled up the blanket to cover him better. He stirred and muttered 'hey,' and she ran her hand through his hair affectionately and sat down on her heels, right in front of him.

"Why are you out here?" she whispered.

As if confronted with something he already gave too much thought to, his eyes immediately gained clarity.

"I couldn't exactly sleep next to you tonight." His emphasis on the word 'sleep' was suggestive enough.

She smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for."

She bit down on her lower lip, in a way she always did when she was pondering on something. "You know, I never would have thought that you'd be... scared."

"Of sex?" he raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"I'm not scared of sex, per se, it's more of... the ultimate way of being with you, that kind of freaks me out," he admitted. "I've lost you before, Ror, and it fucking sucked without having the sex to miss."

Her heart seemed to want to leap out of her chest at the sincerity in his voice. "We're done losing each other, Jess."

"I like to think so, but how can you guarantee that?"

She smiled a little smile and lowered her head to hide it, but he saw it anyway. Or maybe sensed it, he was always capable of that.

"What?" he asked confusedly.

She shook her head, still smiling.

"What?" he repeated.

"In a true Gilmore fashion, I could ask you to marry me," she joked.

Fortunately he took it as such and smirked in return. "Kind of fast."

"Everyone would freak," Rory agreed thoughtfully and Jess chuckled. "But... look, Jess. You're my best friend. You've been a constant in my life, even if you weren't exactly around; you've been at the back of my mind even when I was with Logan, when I tried to deny it in front of myself and everyone else. Now, if that hasn't gone away throughout all this time, when I was supposedly moved on, I doubt it ever will. I don't ever want... this... to go away," she finished quietly. "I hope that's enough of a guarantee for you."

He was afraid how his voice would sound so he only nodded.

After a moment of watching her play with the sleeve of her hoodie, he broke the silence. "You should probably know that I snore when I'm very tired."

She giggled at his train of thought. "I can live with that," she assured him. "I... I... When I was around four, I had this favourite sweater that I wore all the time, and I always thought that if I'm growing, then it must be growing too, and it was a great mystery to me how that's possible."

Jess's confused expression turned into a lopsided grin. "And that's important for our relationship how?"

"It's not, I just couldn't think of anything of any significance that you don't know about me."

"Well, thanks for telling me... Can I tell you a serious one?"

"Always."

"I'm still kind of new at this opening up thing."

"You're doing well" she said seriously.

"Are you willing to forgive sometimes when I'm not?"

"If you're willing to still try, yes."

"Okay. Your turn."

She bit down on her lower lip, clearly contemplating something. "I..." she hesitated. "I really want to have a career in journalism."

"I know that."

"It's demanding. Long hours, mind on work constantly, all that."

"I know," he repeated.

"And you're okay with that?"

"Why, are you afraid that I'd rather make a housewife out of you?"

"Well, no, I just want you to know what you're getting into."

"I'm making this decision being fully aware of its consequences," he stated half-mockingly. "And we can bring the subject of... stepping forward with this relationship at some point in the future, okay?"

"Cool," she grinned as he pulled her closer for a tender kiss. "Let's not rush it though. It's enough that we're having this conversation within a week of getting together."

"Don't care."

"Well, me neither really."

"Go back to sleep," he nodded towards his bedroom. "It's getting light outside already and I don't wanna be dealing with a half-dead Gilmore tomorrow."

"Ha-ha. You're gonna stay here?"

"Yeah," he sighed.

"You're sure?" she looked at him uncertainly.

"Don't even ask."

"Okay. Goodnight Jess."

"Goodnight Rory."

* * *

She reappeared in the living room some time later, asking him in a whisper whether he was asleep. A grunted response from him seemed to satisfy her.

"I can't sleep," she complained.

"Me neither."

"I feel like cooking," she stated determinedly.

Immediately he was sat up straight on the couch, rubbing the remains of drowsiness off his eyes. "You what?"

"Or baking. Can you bake a cake?"

Suddenly, with surprising clarity, he realised that no matter how well he thought he knew her, she still never failed to astound him. A woman who introduced familiarity into his life and kept it fun at the same time? God, no wander he was a goner.

"Generally I'm capable of whipping something up. Never tried it at 4 a.m. though."

"Come on, it'll be fun."

She caught his hand and pulled him into the kitchen, already lit by the summer dawn. She quietly closed the door and he opened the refrigerator, looking through the contents.

"We have strawberries."

"Yummy!"

"Okay," he said and took them out, grabbing butter and eggs as well. "There should be a cook book on that shelf," he motioned and she browsed through a stack of water bills and other papers to find the desired volume.

"Strawberries, strawberries," she mumbled, opening the index page. "Strawberry muffins or strawberry tart."

"Tart," Jess decided.

"Flour and baking powder then."

"On your left, bottom shelf."

"There," she put it on the table. "I love that this is a guys' apartment but you still have all the baking stuff here."

"Matt's a sucker for cake, you may have noticed. He claims having baking stuff at hand makes him feel safe."

"Yeah, yeah," Rory laughed at his attempt at nonchalance; she was being a bit too loud and Jess shushed her playfully. "Sorry," she lowered her voice to a whisper. "I'll take care of the strawberries."

They worked in silence, occasionally gesturing to each other to pass something, secretly observing, smiling when they caught each other's glance.

She insisted on putting the cake to the oven herself since she never did it before. She sighed with pride and took note of the time.

"How long does it need?"

"Probably about half an hour. You tired yet?"

"A little. Not really."

She grabbed the first book she found on the counter and, after a second of consideration, settled on the low windowsill, her knees drawn to her chest. It wasn't the most comfortable of seats but the spot supplied the best lightening in the kitchen. Soft, yellow light of daybreak. Being a Gilmore, she didn't get to experience it very often.

From his point of view, she looked glorious in the most effortless way possible. Her dark silhouette framed by the window, as in she was sitting in a picture frame. For a second he had a flashback to that painting of her that hang in her grandfather's study. This was infinitely better. And it was his, only his.

He sat down on the floor, his back against the wall, his head leaning against her bent legs. He let his eyes shut but he didn't fall asleep. He relaxed truly for the first time that night.

At one point she put her hand in his hair and started playing with his dark locks. Gently. Absentmindedly. Just to be close.

And he was grateful because he wanted her more than ever. Not even carnally, just - completely. Infinite longing without lust.

She was still reading, but really, all the words were just meaningless combinations of letters. Her eyes were skimming over them but they didn't register in her mind. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular, either.

She just existed. Belonged. It felt right.

Until a sound of an ambulance resounded in a distance and got closer and closer, shaking her out of her reverie.

"Jess," she whispered, not sure whether he was asleep or not. "We should check on the cake."

He opened his eyes slowly and lifted his head, letting her get off the windowsill. He joined her at the oven a few seconds later.

She took the cake out, put it on the stove, and surprised him by gently pulling on his shirt and kissing him, slowly and tenderly. Victoriously.

"We made a cake!" she exclaimed in a whisper a few moments later. "It's pretty."

He smirked at her enthusiasm. "You're actually not half as lousy in the kitchen as you let on."

"Well, thank you. You were just let in on one of Rory Gilmore's biggest secrets."

"I'll be sure to keep my mouth shut. Are we using frosting sugar?"

"Totally," she answered, sticking her finger into the bag and proceeding to lick it thoroughly. "Yum."

"Don't do that," Jess grimaced.

"It's frosting sugar, I can't resist!" she said forcefully and covered her finger in sugar again, this time offering it to Jess.

He licked it off casually, desperately wanting to avoid creating a clichéd, nauseating, movie-like situation. If he was going to be nauseatingly cute - 'if' being the key word, he'd rather be a bit creative with it. "You're right, it's good. You want to try the cake now?"

"No, we'll brag about it in the morning."

"It is the morning."

"Whenever we wake up then."

"Okay."

A few moments of silence, and they were holding each other's gaze again. "So... Sleep?" she asked hesitantly, not really wanting the night to end.

He remained silent, only slowly closed the gap between them, resting his hands on her hips and keeping their eyes locked.

"No," he said, barely above a whisper.

A shy smile growing on her lips, her eyes searched his for a confirmation, and she found it there, tentatively shining through but unwavering now.

He kissed her - slowly at first, purposefully, and she let him guide her, feeling butterflies dancing the tango in her stomach.

His hands slipped under her sweatshirt and her pyjama top and she shivered as one of his palms settled on the small of her back, holding her firmly against him, and the other one started to travel up her side and brushed against the side of her breast, then wandered to her stomach.

She responded by deepening the kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck; her broken limb protested against her actions but she sent it a mental message that it was too late and she didn't care.

"Jess," she started, but the sound got drowned by his lips. "We're in the kitchen," she tried again, placing her fingers on his mouth.

"You're sure your arm can take it?" he asked, seemingly out of breath. That was his only question. Everything else was, for once in his life, already taken care of.

"Yeah," she replied shortly, unable to form an answer more sophisticated than that because they were already joined with every possible plane of their bodies, struggling to get to the door of his room, heading for the first and the ultimate.


	18. The Ultimate Weekend In Philadelphia

A/N: It's been a while, so I hope that you have recovered since the last chapter and are ready for your next portion of Pure Fluff! Reviews are always very much appreciated!

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a deep desire to get some proper sleep.

* * *

She was in that state on the verge of sleep and awakening when she always stirred a lot. On a queen-sized bed, this meant that the person sleeping next to her had very little chance of actually not waking up. Her eyes opened and landed on a bookshelf, no more than three feet from the bed. As she felt Jess's hand on her waist and memories of the night and morning returned, a wave of heat instantly spread over her face, her heartbeat speeding up. Jess, on his part, had his face buried in a pillow. His right arm seemed numb, his elbow twisted at a weird angle. He frowned into the pillow when he realised that what he felt under his right palm was in fact bare skin. He lifted his head, took in Rory's long hair splayed on the pillow next to him, smiled a tiny, crooked smile and let his head fall again while his fingers gingerly caressed the flesh on her side.

She rolled over, waiting for him to turn his head and face her. No words at the present moment, just blue eyes meeting a hazel pair and small smiles tugging at their lips. Thank you. Love you. Finally.

Jess Mariano, however, wouldn't be himself if he missed the chance to break the silence with something inappropriate. With a lazy, mischievous smile, he peeked under the covers, making Rory gasp and swat his hand away. What he saw belonged to him, though.

"Huh. You're naked. So for once it wasn't one of those dreams," he drawled out the last word. The satisfaction he got from the growing redness of her cheeks was undeniable, until, fighting the sheets around them, she kicked him in the shin. Hard. "Oww!"

"You deserved that," Rory said as firmly as she could muster, having to keep from laughing. "If you want to say something, make it nice."

"That wasn't nice?"

"No, that was pervy."

"I'm sorry," he said with a smirk. They both knew he wasn't.

She let her head fall back on her pillow and bit the inside of her cheek as a smirk began to form on her lips. "You owe me mushiness now," she teased.

"Mushiness?" he mimicked.

"Yes, mushiness. Let out the sap within you." she commanded mockingly.

He sighed, preparing an appropriate smart-assed response, but then his eyes met hers, awaiting and serious. He shut his mouth.

"Okay," he cleared his throat. "So, that was my first," he hesitated for a moment more, knowing that if there was still a trace of reputation he had in her eyes, this statement was bound to ruin it completely. "My first... love making experience." He watched as Rory smiled widely and proceeded to get lost in thought, which he didn't really like at that particular moment.

She couldn't, however, keep her mind from wandering briefly. Dean flickered in her head and was dismissed immediately, Logan lingered there for a second.

Jess seemed to read her mind. "Shit, please don't think about the blonde asshole now," he pleaded.

Asshole was the keyword. She was an asshole herself in those days; whether it had or had not anything to do with Logan. Thinking about her DAR, boat-stealing, sleeping with Logan in the fancy pool house self made her inwardly cringe.

She met Jess's eyes. "It was the first one of the person I want to be," she said quietly, and he looked at her with such intensity that she thought fleetingly that she might explode. So she added lightly, "Rory's not first, but would you maybe settle for the best?"

He couldn't help an utterly manly smirk of satisfaction from emerging on his face. "You're comparing us? Cruel woman."

"You mind?" She lifted her head and propped herself up on her elbow, literally facing the consequences of her spur of the moment confession.

"With that outcome? Nope."

"Good," she said with a grin.

"Wait... despite the broken arm?" he inquired curiously.

She shook her head, blushing but still smiling. "Mariano, don't you think that I'll start singing your praises!"

"Good, 'cause you can't hold a tune." He waited for her to shoot him a playful glare and raised his eyebrows. "Moaning will do though," he added in an innocent tone.

"Pig!"

"Jess Mariano, nice to meet you," he deadpanned.

"What happened to Jess the gentleman I've been friends with for the last six months?"

"His head exploded from all the ungodly thoughts he's been having about a certain friend," he said and brushed his lips against her pulse point.

"I guess I'll have to live with this Jess," she sighed.

"If it helps, I'll have you know..." Jess started and moved to her collarbone. "This morning... Just a teaser."

She smiled and buried her fingers in his hair. "You're impossibly smug, you know that?"

"I'm sorry, did I just imagine you telling me that it was the best you've ever had?"

Rory's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "That's not what I said exactly."

"Uh huh?" He smirked at her.

"I meant that you were... it was..." she stuttered and Jess burst out laughing. "What?"

"Remember our first kiss at the gas station?" he asked, still chuckling.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, slightly confused.

"Wait, how did it go..." he mused. "'This was...you...were... are... it was wonderful and I look forward to many similar occurrences in the future' or something to that effect."

"Jess!"

"Just admit it, Gilmore," he teased, "I could always sweep you off your feet."

"Jerk," she muttered. "Smug, conceited, arrogant, vain, big-headed-"

"Do you want me to pass you the Thesaurus or do you have all the synonyms of 'smug' memorised?"

She groaned in frustration and turned away from him.

"Rory?" he murmured. "Just for the record – it was fucking awesome and I do look forward to many similar occurrences in the future." When she still didn't answer, Jess sighed and kissed her shoulder. "How about we don't argue about it and instead I prove that my smugness is well-founded?"

Rory pretended to think about it, her nails digging into the flesh of her palm to keep the smile off her face . "Oh... well, go on then."

* * *

"Jess," she started, nudging him gently in the ribs. "Do you have to work today?"

"I'll get out of it," he grumbled and pulled her closer.

"You are so lucky with your job I might actually start hating you for it. Imagine if it was the other way round, I'd be like, sorry, Senator, today I'm not interested in what you have to say, I've had sex! Now, come on," she shook his arm quickly, not allowing him to comment on her previous statement. "Don't fall asleep again, it's 1 p.m. already."

"So?"

"So, we don't want to spend the whole day sleeping, do we?" she asked, but then realised that there was a big chance his answer would be different from the one she wanted, so she added hastily, "Besides, you have roommates. What will they think?"

"They'll see the cake and think that we went nuts and baked in the middle of the night. Plus it's Saturday, which means Chris is sleeping in himself."

"Well, I'm getting up."

"Rory..."

"Hurry if you want to use the bathroom before I go and take a shower... or, actually, I'd appreciate it if you could help me wrap my cast first," she said, picking up a roll of foil from her bag and handing it to him as she sat down on the bed next to him. When he didn't move from his lying position, she tapped on his chest with the roll until he sat up, expressing his discontent with a sound sigh.

She couldn't help but stare at his bare chest while his hands worked on shielding her cast from water, his expression rather grumpy. She bit her lip when his voice reached her ears and she realised what she was doing. "What are you thinking about?" he asked.

She shifted her eyes to his face. "Mom."

His movements stopped for a moment as he looked at her with raised brows and questioning eyes. "My naked body makes you think of your mother?"

"Shut up," she cracked a smile. "I just remembered a conversation I had with her years ago. I promised her I would tell her before anything happened with us," she nodded towards him.

"And?" he inquired, returning to the task at hand. Her hand, specifically.

"And I never did. I mean, she probably figured that much out herself, anyway... but... would it freak you out if I told her today? No details, obviously, just state the fact. It would mean a lot," she lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

"Out of sheer curiosity - why?"

"Can you stand to hear the D and the L words?" He gave her a nod. "I was ashamed of my first times with them, so I never told Mom - she just found out because she's got some sort of a radar. And this," she motioned at the space between them again, "this is different, so it would make sense to tell her."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Sure," he shrugged.

"You're amazing."

"Now, I believe you've already reached the daily limit of compliments you're allowed to pay me," he smirked, putting finishing touches on her cast.

She planted a quick kiss on his lips and got up. "Nice," she looked down at her arm. "Thank you."

She disappeared in the bathroom while Jess entered the kitchen, finding Chris eating cereal and reading, struggling to keep a thick book open with one hand.

"Morning."

"Afternoon."

"Did you bake a cake last night?" Chris asked while Jess gulped a glass of water.

"That must have been the cake fairies," he answered, picking up a pot full of coffee from the counter. He poured it all out into the sink, making his friend gape at him.

"What the hell, man? I just made a fresh pot!"

"Relax, Reed, I'll make another one."

"I'm sorry, I'm failing to see the logic here. I thought you liked my coffee."

"I do."

"So?"

But Jess decided to ignore Chris, ostentatiously fixing his eyes on the opposite wall. Chris frowned and returned to reading, but a few seconds later his eyes snapped back to his friend.

"You got lucky!" he exclaimed, his tone half accusatory and half cheerful.

"Jeez! Would you just mind your own business?"

"So I'm right?" Jess only glared. "Hey, I'm just happy for you here!"

"I'm happy enough for myself, thank you very much."

"Well, I think it's a cause for celebration. How about we throw you a party tonight? My brain is instantly filled with banner ideas," Chris teased.

"You're asking to have your ass kicked."

"Not at all. In fact, just to show you how happy I am for you, I will fend off Matt for today and make up some cover story to get you out of your shift today."

Jess finally cracked a smirk. "Sounds good. Now, what are your ulterior motives?"

"Simply spending a day away from your overjoyed company."

"Well, you have my blessing to do that."

"You're so selfish. If there was a party, there'd be a chance of me getting lucky too."

"Oh yeah."

"That was a negative 'oh yeah', man," Chris accused.

"Not negative, just realistic."

"I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a realistic 'oh yeah'."

"Whatever. You want some coffee?"

"Out of your 'Oh-Rory-last-night-was-so-awesome-I-had-the-urge-to-make-you-coffee-myself' pot? No thanks."

"Suit yourself."

A few moments later, when the coffee was ready and Rory entered the kitchen, her wet hair loosely falling onto her shoulders and eyes more sparkly than usually.

"Oooh, coffee! It smells amazing. Hi Chris," she chirped.

He looked up from his book to shoot her a brief smile. "Hi Rory."

She crossed the kitchen to give Jess a lingering yet decent kiss and smile at him brightly when he handed her a cup of steaming java. She then leaned against him, her back comfortably against his torso; took a sip and sighed contentedly before her eyes fell on Chris who seemed immersed in his reading. She frowned. "Everything okay?" she asked Jess quietly, turning her head to face him.

"Yup. He's just jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" the man replied immediately, finally making eye contact. "I'm just a tad uncomfortable with your lovey-dovey-ness. But don't mind me, I'll deal. How was the party last night?"

"Loud."

"We got a song kind of dedicated to us," Rory grinned.

Chris raised his eyebrows, looking straight at her. "Tell me he danced and my day will be made."

She only smiled behind her cup of coffee while Jess attempted to perform an eye-murder on his friend, who got up from the table, leaving the empty cereal bowl in the sink.

"Oh. Rory, I was meaning to ask," he started casually. "Do you happen to have a sister?"

"Step-sister and half-sister. Fifteen and six respectively. Sorry," she added amusedly.

Chris sighed dramatically. "That's my luck, exactly. Anyway, any big plans for today? Harry mentioned something about wanting to take everyone downtown, show Rory a bit of Philly."

"Not today," Jess answered. "You're working and we are lazing around and then going out to dinner."

Rory furrowed her brow and pulled away to look Jess in the eye. "We are?"

"Yup."

"Well, gee, how nice of you to ask me."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Chris leaving the kitchen, then gave her an eye roll.

"Rory?"

"Yes?" she smiled with exaggerated sweetness, turning around to fully face him.

"Are you free tonight? I was wondering if you'd like to get some dinner."

"Tonight? Is it a pity date?"

"No, that's just me being spontaneous."

"Huh," she nodded, her expression rather unimpressed.

"Okay, what did I say wrong?"

"Nothing... It's more of who you said it to."

He took a sharp breath, opening his mouth to say something, then he closed it, awkwardly looking around the kitchen while her gaze pierced through him. "I'm sorry," he said a few seconds later, still avoiding eye contact. "I shouldn't have informed you of my intentions to take you out via telling Chris."

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have," she paused. "But I'm not going to make a big deal of this, especially since my stomach would be really unhappy if I missed out on dinner."

"So we're on," he confirmed.

"Yes, we are. It's about time for a first date, isn't it?" she grinned and met him half way for a kiss.

* * *

"Mom, hi!" Rory beamed into her phone. "I was just about to text you to ask you to call me!"

"Yeah, I sensed that. The voices in my head have been begging me to call you since the moment I woke up this morning," Lorelai responded matter-of-factly.

"Well, I'm glad you did. How are you, Mom?"

"I'm great. Even though my newly acquired husband keeps teasing me about being unwell because I made him breakfast this morning."

"You made breakfast?" the younger Gilmore asked cautiously.

"Don't mock, my dearest and only child, I've been known to make breakfast before."

"One that consisted of coffee and reheated waffles from Luke's."

"Hey, I'm learning! Even if he has to assist and make sure nothing is on fire. See, I have a husband to feed now."

"As opposed to a daughter."

"Exactly," Lorelai agreed. "So, what are you up to?"

"Well, you might be amused to know that I baked a cake last night. Or... this morning. Whatever. Point is, Jess and I split the work in half and the cake is still yummy!"

"Our diner men suck the Gilmorism out of us. Should we get rid of them?"

"Nah, I kind of like mine. Was the pun intended, by the way?"

"I refuse to comment."

"That might be for the best..." Knowing that the longer she stalled, the worse was the chance of actually saying it, Rory bit her lip and decided to try. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"I-I..." she stuttered and leaned her head against a wall. "I slept with Jess." The words were followed by a deep exhalation on Rory's part and silence on Lorelai's, which only intensified Rory's feeling of awkwardness. "Mom? Say something."

Not even Lorelai's next words surprised Rory as much as her mother's voice, because she was clearly smiling as she said, "You suck at waiting."

Rory smiled, too, instantly relaxing,. "Hey! I resent that. Seven years, Mom."

"You've been waiting for Jess sex for the last seven years?"

"...I refuse to comment."

"That might be for the best... God, you know how I feared those words when you were together with Jess the first time? I was about to have a heart attack every time you came to me saying that you wanted to talk."

"How about now?"

"Well, no heart attacks. I might need a cup of coffee but I'm okay."

"Good. Let's change the subject, I already told you way too much."

"It makes me feel like a very special mother that I am."

"I understand. I'm happy, Mom. Ridiculously. If I was looking at myself from the outside, I'd probably feel sick at the sight of how happy I am, but like this, I really cannot be bothered to worry about that."

"Well, who would have thought that you would one day bless your inability to think objectively?"

"Not me."

"Hey, kid? You want to know a secret?"

"As long as it's not dirty."

"Ah! Go tell Jess that I really don't like him for putting your mind in the gutter!"

"Sorry. What were you about to tell me?"

"That I'm ridiculously happy too."

"Which makes me even happier."

"Don't explode from all this happiness. Watch _Picture Perfect _or something."

"What's sad about that movie?"

"Kevin Bacon's hair."

"Oh, of course."

Lorelai sighed. "Go, enjoy the rest of the time with your lover boy and I'll talk to you next Sunday when we get back from Canada."

"Okay. Say hi to Luke from me. And from Jess."

"Will do. Bye, hon."

"Bye, Mom."

* * *

They were sitting at a table slightly too small for two, in the basement of a quaint little Italian restaurant, apparently owned by an old Chinese couple. Rory wasn't quite able to contain her delighted laughter as they were led to their table; the place had a certain vibe, and she didn't refrain from saying that to Jess, much to his annoyance.

"I love it here! I swear, I've never eaten pasta with chopsticks! Is this your regular date spot? Come on, tell me," she demanded excitedly, grinning like a crazy person.

He handed her a menu, giving her a quizzical look. "First off – it's a first date, I'm not talking to you about my dating past tonight. And I've been here once. With Matthew and Chris, when they told me that everything's finalised and _The Subsect _was going to print."

She was about to reply something when a waiter approached them, making small talk and recommending some weird-sounding types of spaghetti. They ordered and fell silent. Not the awkward kind of silence – they were way past that – but Rory decided to pretend.

"So, Jess, I hear you write," she shot him a bright smile, one that was asking him to play along.

"Not entirely inaccurate," he replied vaguely.

"Meaning?"

"I work in a small publishing company, that's what pays the bills. Writing is still more of a side project."

"But it's in progress?" she inquired, trying to make the question sound casual.

"Rory..."

"Come on, you are so secretive about your writing. I'm trying not to pry but it's killing me here. Just give me something," she half-whined. "What are you working on? A sequel?"

He sighed deeply before answering. "No. No sequels. I tried but all plot devices seemed unsatisfying." He looked down at his hands. "Short stories. I've been writing some short stories."

"Oooh, cool!" Rory exclaimed with genuine enthusiasm. "Are you planning to get them published? Hiding your writing from the world is such a waste, Jess."

"Maybe. Not really. I'm no Salinger, Rory, I can't afford to publish things that are completely random."

"Any chance you are going to let me read something? Or better yet," she giggled self-deprecatingly, knowing her request was rather silly. "You could write a story for me. Like _For Esmé – with Love and Squalor_."

"Sure," he nodded, with a detectable note of mockery in his voice. "_For Rory, with Love and?"_ he trailed off.

"I'll let you figure that one out."

The waiter came back and placed their drinks on their table.

"Jess, can I ask you something?" Rory asked when they were left alone again. "It's not a first date type of question though..."

"Shoot."

"When we first met – did you have a... an agenda?" she asked, shyly shifting her gaze from her glass to his eyes.

"Huh," he said, not breaking the eye contact.

"I'm... I'm sorry I keep bringing up the past, it's just that I have so many questions and things I need you to know..."

"It's fine," he assured her, slightly stiffening. "We'll get through it all eventually."

"Yes we will. So, agenda?"

"I suppose. At the beginning it was to make you realise that you and Dean didn't work. I liked you, obviously, but I didn't believe you'd ever choose me. But then you kissed me and... yeah, I guess there was a clear agenda from then on."

Neither one of them said anything for a moment, but somehow their hands found their way to each other, their fingers lacing like they always did, naturally. Looking down at them, Rory spoke.

"Did you know I was already in love you when we got together after that dance marathon? It's so stupid, we were together for what – seven, eight months, and I never told you that. My only defence is that I was kind of freaked out by what happened with Dean, you know. One moment I was convinced I loved him, next you were there and that thing with him just seemed so... bland. Not that I thought that would happen with you, it's just that-"

"Rory," he cut her off.

"Yeah?" she finally inhaled.

"We're here now."

"I know...I just wonder sometimes. If we could have worked the first time round, if we said it or just communicated better. If we could have avoided all the hurt we caused each other. But then I think that it brought us closer together than we ever could have been if things went smoothly."

"I think you're right."

"I love you, Jess." She said it without a shadow of a doubt in her voice, and their eyes met unwaveringly as small smiles played on their lips. He wondered how it was possible that every time she said it, it felt slightly different; desperately at the bridge, shyly at breakfast in Luke's apartment, breathlessly against his skin this morning. Despite that, every single time, it left him dizzy.

Even the best of books, with their elaborate plots and exquisite writing rarely did to him what Rory was able to with those three short words.

Now, he silently thanked the old restaurant-owner for sitting them at a table so small that Jess could just lean over and kiss her. He did so at once, pulling her into a kiss that did not know control or fierceness, only slow, tender caresses.

"You know," Rory smiled as she opened her eyes. "This spaghetti better be good because that's the only thing that's keeping me in this seat right now. We could have stayed at home tonight."

His eyebrows rose and smirk grew.

"Putting out on the first date, Gilmore?"

"Well, I'm not planning on going on any more of them so I might as well make the most of it," she smiled and he shook his head, fully enjoying this new-found, sweetly seductive side of Rory Gilmore.

* * *

The following morning, after having brunch at the apartment, the group was setting off to take a walk around the city.

"Chris, come on, come with us," Harriet persuaded. "We'll do some touristy stuff and then we'll hit The Tavern to get something to eat. It will be fun!"

Chris grunted. "You go, I'll stay and read _The Sorrows Of Young Werther_ or something."

"Reed," she put her hands on his shoulders and shook him. "Stop moaning."

"I don't wanna be the third wheel."

"That's bull. If anything, you'll be the fifth wheel. Come on, I insist."

"There's no way you'll leave me alone, is there?" he asked, raising his brow.

"Of course not," Harriet grinned in response, reaching to ruffle his afro, only to have her hand swatted away.

"All right, everyone ready?" Matt made sure. "Let's head out then."

"Wait, just give me three minutes," Chris asked.

"We'll wait outside."

The two couples made their way downstairs, bumping into Melanie who was just entering the building.

"Where were you?"

She groaned, stopping in front of her brother. "Matt, I swear, I told you not to ask me that, I'm not a kid anymore! Where are you guys going?"

"A bit of Philly sightseeing," Harriet answered. "Come with us!"

"Oh, you know, I don't want to be the fifth wheel."

"You won't be."

"You're sure?"

"Totally."

"Okay then. What are we waiting for – oh," she clearly rolled her eyes at the sight of Chris, something that didn't escape Harriet's attention.

"Guys," Matt cut in once more. "Let's catch up with Jess and Rory before they start making out again."

"Good idea. Lead the way," Harriet commanded and caught his hand.

* * *

Walking through the Fairmount Park, the two couples strolled side by side, with Mel and Chris behind, both with their hands in their pockets.

Harriet turned around to glance at them and smirked. Ignoring her boyfriend, she addressed Jess and Rory. "So, how long do we give them?"

Jess, with a smirk of his own, answered, "It's Chris, he'll take a while."

"What are you talking about?" Matthew eyes the other three suspiciously. "Them? Mel and Chris? No! No way!"

"Shhh, Matt, no need to freak out."

"No need? She's my little sister!" he exclaimed in hysterical whisper.

"And Chris is your best friend. You love him," Harriet tried soothingly.

"I do, but have you seen him with girls?"

"No."

"That's kind of the point, Harry," Jess chimed in, smirking. "Matt, seriously though. Nothing happened, forget this was ever mentioned," he added and rolled his eyes, only for Rory to see. "Why are you smiling like that?" he said into her ear lowering his voice and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to bring her closer.

"Just thinking," Rory answered. "If I ever told the eighteen year old Jess Mariano that he would have close friends, and it would be a group of people who went to Ivy League schools, he would have laughed in my face."

He considered it for a moment. "He would have."

"While we are on the subject – how far is the University of Pennsylvania campus from here?"

"Just around the corner."

"Can we go see it?"

"I bet it looks like all the other Ivy campuses."

"Come on, I want to see it!" Rory pleaded.

"Why?"

"Just curious," she shrugged.

"Guys! Let's turn right."

* * *

"... and this is my favourite place on the entire campus," Matthew continued, seemingly in his element, "I've basically spent my entire sophomore year in this library. I had a job here and at one point I even used to sleep in the stuff room. Right around the corner there's the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, really cool place, too, and-"

"And let's please head towards the Museum of Art now?" Mel cut in hopelessly. "Before my feet fall off.

"Fine," Matt huffed.

"Thanks, Matthew," Rory said genuinely, "that was really helpful."

"Yes, have you ever considered a career as a professional tour guide?" Jess asked his friend sarcastically before addressing Rory. "Helpful with what?"

"Looking around the campus," she answered casually.

"Do we have something to talk about?" he frowned.

"No. Maybe, one day, but not now," she said, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

The group walked on for a few minutes until they found themselves at the foot of the Rocky Steps, standing in silence, no one particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of climbing up.

Rory looked up and scrunched her nose. "Rocky's a masochist."

"It just wasn't as hot as it is today."

"And he didn't go around every single touristy place in town before his run."

"It's like... hundreds of steps."

"Seventy-two," Matthew corrected but the grimace on his face revealed that he wasn't so convinced himself.

"Sly is such a legend," Chris stated somewhat randomly, successful in turning everyone's attention away from the steps. "Total renaissance man. And he's so cool with the fans."

"He so is," Matthew confirmed.

Rory's eyes widened. "Don't tell me you met him!"

"We did. Right here, when they were filming Rocky Balboa."

"And you didn't tell me?" she gasped at Jess.

"Hey, I wasn't there."

"That's right, he disappeared at the time," Chris nodded.

"I was finishing off the book."

"Excuses, excuses."

"Guys, should we just skip climbing up?" Harriet interrupted. Everyone gave some gesture or mumble of support for the idea. "Rory? You're the out of towner, you decide."

"No, I think I like the idea of skipping it. There's been more than enough exercise for today..." she said and bit her tongue when she noticed Jess giving her a funny look, "... the walk's been long."

"Okay. Let's go eat then."

* * *

Halfway through devouring their Philly cheesesteaks, apparently the best in town, according to the Truncheon gang; while Chris and Mel sat next to each other in somewhat tense silence, barely noticeable thanks to Rory and Matthew's loud discussion on the state of American politics, Harriet caught Jess's eye across the table, and tilting her head towards their respective significant others, she smiled contentedly.

And he smiled right back.


End file.
